Comparative law (French: droit comparé, German: Rechtsvergleichung, Italian: diritto comparato, Spanish: derecho comparado, Portuguese: direito comparado, Greek: Συγκριτικό Δίκαιο) is the study of differences and similarities between the law of different countries. More specifically, it involves study of the different legal systems in existence in the world, including the common law, the civil law, socialist law, Islamic law, and Asian law. It includes the description and analysis of foreign legal systems, even where no explicit comparison is undertaken. The importance of comparative law has increased enormously in the present age of internationalism, economic globalisation and democratisation. See also Wikipedias Law Portal. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Civil law is a codified system of law that sets out a comprehensive system of rules that are applied and interpreted by judges. ... Socialist law is the official name of the legal system used in Communist states. ... Sharia (Arabic شريعة also Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is traditional Islamic law. ...

Purpose of Comparative Law

Comparative law is an academic study of separate legal systems, each one analysed in its constitutive elements; how they differ in the different legal systems, and how their elements combine into a system.

Several disciplines have developed as separate branches of comparative law, including comparative constitutional law, comparative administrative law, comparative civil law (in the sense of the law of torts, delicts, contracts and obligations), comparative commercial law (in the sense of business organisations and trade), and comparative criminal law. Studies of these specific areas may be viewed as micro- or macro-comparative legal analysis, i.e. detailed comparisons of two countries, or broad-ranging studies of several countries. Comparative civil law studies, for instance, show how the law of private relations is organised, interpreted and used in different systems or countries. Constitutional law is the study of foundational laws that govern the scope of powers and authority of various bodies in relation to the creation and execution of other laws by a government. ... Administrative law is the body of law that arises from the activities of administrative agencies of government. ... In the common law, civil law refers to the area of law governing relations between private individuals. ... Commercial law or business law is the body of law which governs business and commerce and is often considered to be a branch of civil law and deals both with issues of private law and public law. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses. ...

It appears today the the principal purposes of comparative law are:

• to attain a deeper knowledge of the legal systems in effect
• to perfect the legal systems in effect
• possibly, to contribute to a unification of legal systems, of a smaller or larger scale (cf. for instance, the Unidroit initiative)

(Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brède et de Montesquieu) Montesquieu - The 'Father' of Comparative Law

According to the prevalent view, Montesquieu is regarded as the 'father' of comparative law. His comparative approach is obvious in the following excerpt from Chapter III of Book I of his masterpiece De l'esprit des lois ([1]): Montesquieu can refer to: Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu Several communes of France: Montesquieu, in the Hérault département Montesquieu, in the Lot-et-Garonne département Montesquieu, in the Tarn-et-Garonne département This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the... The Spirit of the Laws (French: De lesprit des lois) is a book on political theory by Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, published in 1748. ...

"[The political and civil laws of each nation] should be adapted in such a manner to the people for whom they are framed that it should be a great chance if those of one nation suit another.

They should be in relation to the nature and principle of each government; whether they form it, as may be said of politic laws; or whether they support it, as in the case of civil institutions.

They should be in relation to the climate of each country, to the quality of its soil, to its situation and extent, to the principal occupation of the natives, whether husbandmen, huntsmen, or shepherds: they should have relation to the degree of liberty which the constitution will bear; to the religion of the inhabitants, to their inclinations, riches, numbers, commerce, manners, and customs."

Also, in Chapter XI (entitled 'How to compare two different Systems of Laws') of Book XXIX he advises that

'to determine which of those systems [i.e. the French and English systems for the punishment of false witnesses] is most agreeable to reason, we must take them each as a whole and compare them in their entirety.'

Yet another excerpt where Montesqieu's comparative approach is evident is the following one from Chapter XIII of Book XXIX:

'As the civil laws depend on the political institutions, because they are made for the same society, whenever there is a design of adopting the civil law of another nation, it would be proper to examine beforehand whether they have both the same institutions and the same political law.'

Relationship with Other Legal Fields of Study

Comparative law is different from the fields of general jurisprudence (legal theory), international law, including both public international law and private international law (also known as conflict of laws). Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... International law deals with the relationships between states, or between persons or entities in different states. ... Private International Law, International Private Law, or Conflict of Laws is that branch of law regulating all lawsuits involving a foreign law element where a difference in result will occur depending on which laws are applied as the lex causae. ... The term Conflict of Laws descibes generally the body of law that aspires to provide solutions to international or interstate legal disputes between persons or entities other than countries or states as such. ...

Despite the differences between comparative law and these other legal fields, comparative law helps inform all of these areas of normativity. For example, comparative law can help international legal institutions, such as those of the United Nations System, in analyzing the laws of different countries regarding their treaty obligations. Comparative law would be applicable to private international law when developing an approach to interpretation in a conflicts analysis. Comparative may contribute to legal theory by creating categories and concepts of general application. Comparative law may also provide insights into the problem of legal transplants, i.e. the transplanting of law and legal institutions from one system to another. United Nations System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Also, the usefulness of comparative law for the sociology of law (and vice versa) is very large. The comparative study of the various legal systems may show how different legal regulations for the same problem function in practice. Conversely, sociology of law may help comparative law answer questions, such as: How do regulations in different legal systems really function in the respective societies? Are certain legal rules comparable? How do the similarities and differences between legal systems get explained?

Additional Importance of Comparative Law

Comparative law is a very important discipline in communication between legal systems. It may provide the basis for the production of bilingual dictionaries that include the information necessary to make legal communication across borders successful. It also helps mutual understanding and the dispelling of prejudice and misinterpretation.

Proposed Classifications of Legal Systems

Arminjon, Nolde, and Wolff ('Traité de droit comparé' - in French; Paris 1950-1952) believed that, for purposes of classifying the (then) contemporary legal systems of the world, it was required that those systems per se get studied, irrespective of external factors, such as geographical ones. They proposed the classification of legal system into seven (7) groups, or so-called 'families', in particular:

1. The French group, under which they also included the countries that codified their law either in 19th or in the first half of the 20th century, using the Napoleonian code civil of year 1804 as a model; this includes countries and jurisdictions such as Italy, Portugal, Spain, Louisiana, states of South America (such as Brazil), Quebec, Santa Lucia, Romania, the Ionian Islands, Egypt, and Lebanon
2. The German group
3. The Scandinavian group (comprising the laws of  Sweden,  Norway,  Denmark,  Finland, and  Iceland)
4. The English group (incl. England, the United States of America, Canada, and Australia inter alia)
5. The Russian group
6. The Islamic group
7. The Hindu group

David (Traité élémentaire de droit civile comparé: Introduction à l'étude des droits étrangers et à la méthode comparative - in French; Paris 1950) proposed the classificiation of legal systems, according to the different ideology inspiring each one, into five (5) groups or families: Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Portugal. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Louisiana. ... Official language(s) English and French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans at last census; probably Baton Rouge since Hurricane Katrina Area  Ranked 31st  - Total 51,885 sq mi (134,382 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 16  - Latitude 29°N to 33... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Brazil. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Quebec. ... Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Official languages French Flower Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor Linné) Tree Yellow Birch Bird Snowy Owl Capital Quebec City Largest city Montreal Lieutenant-Governor Lise Thibault Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 75 24 Area Total  - Land  - Water  (% of... Image File history File links Flag_of_Saint_Lucia. ... Santa Lucia is a well-known traditional Neapolitan song. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Romania. ... // Headline text This article is about the group of islands west of Greece. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Egypt. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Lebanon. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Scandinavian can mean: a resident of, or anything relating to Scandinavia any North Germanic language a chess opening, Scandinavian Defense the aviation corpotation Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Iceland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Wiktionary has related dictionary definitions, such as: English, english The language of English started in Europe and came to the US with the British immigrants. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi   - Water (%) Population... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( â–¶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_India. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

1. Western Laws, a group subdivided into the:
   • Romanogermanic subgroup (comprising those legal systems where legal science got formulated according to Roman Law), and the
   • Anglosaxon subgroup
2. Soviet Law
3. Muslim Law
4. Hindu Law
5. Chinese Law

Especially with respect to the aggregating by David of the Romanogermanic and Anglosaxon Laws into a single family, David argued that the antithesis between the Anglosaxon Laws and Romanogerman Laws, is of a technical, rather than of an ideological nature. Of a different kind is, for instance, the antithesis between (say) the Italian and the American Law, and of a different kind that between the Soviet, Muslim, Hindu, or Chinese Law. According to David, the Romanogermanic legal systems included those countries where legal science got formulated according to Roman Law, whereas common law countries are those where law got created from the judges. Look up West in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Vatican_City. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... Soviet redirects here. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_India. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Judges may refer to the Book of Judges in the Bible more than one judge. ...

The characteristics that he believed uniquely differentiate the Western legal family from the other four (4) where:

• liberal democracy
• capitalist economy
• Christian religion

Zweigert and Kötz (An Introduction to Comparative Law, translation from the Germany original: T. Weir, 3rd edition; Oxford, 1998) propose a different, multidimensional methodology for categorizing laws, i.e. for ordering families of laws. They maintain that, in order to determine such families, five (5) criteria should be taken into account, in particular:

• The historical background
• The characteristic way of thought
• The different institutions
• The recognized sources of law
• The dominant ideology

Using the aforementioned criteria, they classify the legal systems of the world, in the following six (6) families:

1. The Roman family
2. The German family
3. The Angloamerican family
4. The Scandinavian family
5. The family of the laws of the Far East (  China and  Japan)
6. The Religious family ( Muslim and Hindi law)

Law
	Legal systems	Common law | Civil law | Customary law | Religious law | Socialist law | International law
	Sources of law	Statutory law (Legislation | Civil code | Statutory interpretation)
		Non-statutory law (Custom | Case law | Equity)
	Adjudication	Public law (Criminal law | Constitutional law | Administrative law)
		Private law (Civil law | Law of obligations | Contract | Tort | Wills and Trusts)
		Courts (Adversarial system | Inquisitorial system | Evidence | Judiciary | Lawyers)
	Jurisprudence	Philosophy of law | Natural law | Legal positivism | Legal formalism | Legal realism | Legal interpretivism | Feminist legal theory | Law and economics | Critical legal studies | Comparative law
	See also:List of areas of law

Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Vatican_City. ... Roman or Romans may refer to: History Ancient Rome (9th century BC – 5th century AD) Roman Kingdom (753 BC to 509 BC) Roman Republic (509 BC to 44 BC) Roman Empire (44 BC to AD 476) Roman citizen Byzantine Empire (330 to 1453), also known as the Eastern Roman Empire... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Anglo-American may refer to: English American, a person who was born in England then emigrated to North America Pertaining to Anglo-America, a term denoting mixed English and American influence or heritage, or those parts of or groups within the Americas which have a tie to or which are... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Scandinavian can mean: a resident of, or anything relating to Scandinavia any North Germanic language a chess opening, Scandinavian Defense the aviation corpotation Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Far East is an inexact term often used for East Asia and Southeast Asia combined, sometimes including also the easternmost territories of Russia, i. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_India. ... Hindi (हिन्दी or हिंदी in Devanāgarī; pronunciation: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is one of the official languages of the Union government of India. ... See also Wikipedias Law Portal. ... Image File history File links Scale_of_justice. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Civil law is a codified system of law that sets out a comprehensive system of rules that are applied and interpreted by judges. ... In law, custom, or customary law consists of established patterns of behaviour that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. ... In the religious sense, law can be thought of as the ordering principle of reality; knowledge as revealed by God defining and governing all human affairs. ... Socialist law is the official name of the legal system used in Communist states. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Statutory law is written law (as opposed to oral or customary law) set down by a legislature or other governing authority such as the executive branch of government in response to a perceived need to clarify the functioning of government, improve civil order, answer a public need, to codify existing... Bold textJAMES CHECKLEY Legislation (or statutory law) is law which has been promulgated (or enacted) by a legislature or other governing body. ... A civil code is a systematic compilation of laws designed to comprehensively deal with the core areas of private law. ... Statutory interpretation is the process of reading and applying statutory law. ... Common Law, now often referred to as Non-statutory law is the foundation for justice in the Union States under our constitional scheme. ... In law, custom, or customary law consists of established patterns of behaviour that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. ... Case law (precedential law) is the body of judge-made law and legal decisions that interprets prior case law, statutes and other legal authority -- including doctrinal writings by legal scholars such as the Corpus Juris Secundum, Halsburys Laws of England or the doctinal writings found in the Recueil Dalloz... The Court of Chancery, London, early 19th century This article is about concept of equity in Anglo-American jurisprudence. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Dispute resolution. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses. ... Constitutional law is the study of foundational laws that govern the scope of powers and authority of various bodies in relation to the creation and execution of other laws by a government. ... Administrative law is the body of law that arises from the activities of administrative agencies of government. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In the common law, civil law refers to the area of law governing relations between private individuals. ... The Law of Obligations is one of the component elements of the civil law system of law and encompasses contractual obligations, quasi-contractual obligations such as unjust enrichment and extra-contractual obligations. ... A contract is a promise or an agreement that is enforced or recognized by the law. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In the common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over his property or family after death. ... The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of law which governs the management of personal affairs and the disposition of property of an individual in anticipation and the event of such persons incapacity or death, also known as the law of successions in civil law. ... A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... An inquisitorial system is a legal system where the court or a part of the court is actively involved in determining the facts of the case, as opposed to an adversarial system where the role of the court is solely that of an impartial referee between parties. ... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (e. ... In law, the judiciary or judicature is the system of courts which administer justice in the name of the sovereign or state, and provide a mechanism for the resolution of disputes. ... English barrister 16th century painting of a civil law notary, by Flemish painter Quentin Massys. ... Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. ... Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy and jurisprudence which studies basic questions about law and legal systems, such as what is the law?, what are the criteria for legal validity?, what is the relationship between law and morality?, and many other similar questions. ... It has been suggested that Law of nature (precept) be merged into this article or section. ... Legal positivism is a school of thought in modern and contemporary jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. ... Legal formalism is a Positivist view in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. ... Legal realism is a family of theories about the nature of law developed in the first half of the 20th century in the United States (American Legal Realism) and Scandinavia (Scandinavian Legal Realism). ... Interpretivism is a school of thought in contemporary jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. ... The study of feminist legal theory is a school thought based on the common view that laws treatment of women in relation to men has not been equal nor fair. ... Law and economics is the term usually applied to an approach to legal theory that incorporates methods and ideas borrowed from the discipline of economics. ... Critical legal studies refers to a movement in legal thought that applied methods similar to those of critical theory (the Frankfurt School) to law. ... The following is a list of major areas of legal practice and important legal subject-matters. ...

See also

• Legal systems of the world (Includes Links to Legal Systems of Specific Countries)

World distribution of major legal traditions The four major legal systems of the world today consist of civil law, common law, customary law, and religious law. ...

Relevant links

• The Australian Institute of Comparative Legal Systems

References

• Moustaira Elina N., Comparative Law: University Courses (in Greek), Ant. N. Sakkoulas Publishers, Athens, 2004, ISBN 960-15-1267-5
• Moustaira Elina N., Milestones in the Course of Comparative Law: Thesis and Antithesis (in Greek), Ant. N. Sakkoulas Publishers, Athens, 2003, ISBN 960-15-1097-4