Interpreting Precedents: A Comparative Study / Edition 1

by D. Neil MacCormick, Robert S. Summers, Arthur L. Goodhart

Overview

This book contains a series of essays discussing the uses of precedent as a source of law and a basis for legal arguments in nine different legal systems, representing a variety of legal traditions. Precedent is fundamental to law, yet theoretical and ideological as well as legal considerations lead to its being differently handled and rationalised in different places. Out of the comparative study come the six theoretical and synoptic essays that conclude the volume.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781855216860
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/19/1997
Series:	Applied Legal Philosophy
Pages:	608
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

D. Neil MacCormick, Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations, The University of Edinburgh, UK and Robert S. Summers, McRoberts Research Professor of Law, Cornell University, USA and Arthur L. Goodhart Visiting Professor of Legal Science, University of Cambridge, UK, 1991-92

Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction, D. Neil MacCormick and Robert S. Summers; Precedent in the Federal Republic of Germany, Robert Alexy and Ralph Dreier; Precedent in Finland, Aulis Aarnio; Precedent in France, Michel Troper and Christophe Grzegorczyk; Precedent in Italy, Massimo La Torre and Michele Taruffo; Precedent in Norway, Svein Eng; Precedent in Poland, Lech Morawski and Marek Zirk-Sadowski; Precedent in Spain, Francisco J. Laporta and Alfonso Ruiz Miguel; Precedent Interpretation in Sweden, Gunnar Bergholtz and Aleksander Peczenick; Precedent in the United Kingdom, Zenon Bankowski, D. Neil MacCormick and Geoffrey Marshall; Precedent in the United States (New York State), Robert S. Summers; Precedent in European Community Law, John J. Barceló; Institutional Factors Influencing Precedents, Michele Taruffo; The Binding Force of Precedent, Aleksander Peczenick; Rationales for Precedent, Zenon Bankowski, D. Neil MacCormick, Lech Morawski and Alfonso Ruiz Miguel; What is Binding in a Precedent, Geoffrey Marshall; Departures from Precedent, Svein Eng and Robert S. Summers; Further General Reflections and Conclusions; D. Neil MacCormick and Robert S. Summers.

Editorial Reviews

Contributors from different legal traditions examine the place of judicial precedent in ten European countries, including the US, and in the European Union as a whole. Their approach is structured through a set of common questions. They deal with underlying theoretical and comparative issues such as institutional factors that affect the use of precedent, the bindingness of precedent, the rationale for accepting that precedents can bind at all, and departing from precedents. For comparative lawyers and legal theorists. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

’...provides concise and accessible introductions...for anyone interested in exploring and stimulating any aspect of the reasoning with legal precedents that occur in law, Interpreting Precedents would be a valuable reference.’ Artificial Intelligence and Law ’...a highly important contribution to the theory of the sources of law. It is impossible to sum up in just a few lines the exceptional richness of this volume.’ International Journal of Comparative Law

From the Publisher