Showing papers on "Common law published in 2004"

The Oxford handbook of jurisprudence and philosophy of law

Abstract: Notes on the Contributors 1. Natural Law: The Classical Tradition 2. Natural Law: The Modern Tradition 3. Exclusive Legal Positivism 4. Inclusive Legal Positivism 5. Formalism 6. Adjudication 7. Constitutional and Statutory Interpretation 8. Methodology 9. Legal and Political Philosophy 10. Authority 11. Reasons 12. Rights 13. Law and Obligations 14. Responsibility 15. Philosophy of the Common Law 16. Philosophy of Private Law 17. Philosophy of Tort Law 18. Philosophy of Contract Law 19. Philosophy of Property Law 20. The Philosophy of Criminal Law 21. Philosophy of International Law 22. Law and Language 23. Law and Objectivity 24. Law, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Index

Toward a global model of venture capital

Abstract: While the U.S. still accounts for about two-thirds of the world's total private equity fund-raising and investment, other countries have been adopting American practices and are experiencing significant growth in their private equity markets. In fact, a case can be made that a global market for venture capital and private equity is emerging, at least in Western Europe and North America, where venture markets are seeing significant convergence in funding levels, investment patterns, and realized returns. To date, however, the European Union has had little success in establishing community-wide commercial laws, taxation regimes, or corporate governance policies, so each country's private equity funds are organized in segmented national markets, and investment also tends to be largely localized. The Asian markets are even more fragmented: venture capital shows no sign of taking root in Japan, and China lacks the basic legal infrastructure needed to support a vibrant venture capital market. Venture capitalists create value through their role as active investors, and government and business leaders around the world have come to realize that venture capital and private equity investing can be a significant force in promoting economic development and technological progress. In general, countries with English common law codes offer greater protection to inves-tors; the ratio of venture capital spending to GDP for common law countries is nearly double that in civil law countries. Government efforts to promote venture capital would probably be better focused on eliminating regulatory road-blocks, lowering taxes, and provid-ing a favorable investor climate. In the meantime, it appears that pri-vate equity fund-raising and invest-ment have hit their cyclical lows and are poised to surpass $250 billion globally within three or four years and to reach one-half trillion dollars by the end of the decade. The author also predicts that India, whose history as a former British colony has given it a common law framework as well as system of elite universities and technical institutes known for the quality of its gradu-ates, should become one of the five leading venture capital markets by the end of this decade.

Culture, Law, and Corporate Governance

Abstract: This article advances a new framework for investigating a simple yet fundamental question: In what ways does the law on the books reflect cultural values? We analyze relations between indices of investors' legal rights - as coded by La Porta et al. (LLSV) - and national cultural profiles. These indices correlate with cultural priorities that are consistent with societal acceptance of litigation. Indices of formalism in civil procedure exhibit similar correlations. Such societal stance may be related to a heritage of British rule. Grouping countries according to legal families - the cornerstone of LLSV's legal approach - provides only a partial depiction of the universe of corporate governance regimes. Our findings cast doubt on the alleged general supremacy of statutes in common law countries. These findings have implications for understanding diversity and convergence in corporate governance systems and for a systematic analysis of the interface between law and social institutions.

The Development of Positive Obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights by the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract: During the last thirty years the European Court of Human Rights has been developing,at an expanding pace, positive obligations under the European Convention. This monograph seeks to provide a critical analysis of the burgeoning case law concerning positive obligations, a topic which is relatively uncharted in the existing literature. Positive obligations require many different forms of action by member states, ranging from effectively investigating killings through to protecting peaceful demonstrators from violent attacks by their opponents. The contemporary significance of these obligations is graphically illustrated by the fact that it is the obligation upon states to provide fair trials to determine civil and criminal proceedings within a reasonable time that is the source of the overwhelming majority of complaints to the European Court in recent years. The study examines the legal bases and content of key positive obligations. Conclusions are then drawn concerning the reasons for the development of these obligations and areas of potential expansion are identified.

Law and Firms' Access to Finance

Abstract: Why does a country's legal origin influence its firms'access to finance? Using data from over 4,000 firms in 38 countries, the authors show that firms in countries with French legal origin face significantly higher obstacles in accessing external finance than firms in common law countries Next, their results indicate that French legal origin countries tend to have (1) less adaptable legal systems, as defined by the degree to which case law and principles of equity rather than simply statutory law are accepted foundations of legal decisions, and (2) less politically independent judiciaries, as defined by the degree of tenure of supreme court judges and their jurisdiction over cases involving the government Finally, the authors find that the adaptability of a country's legal system is more important for explaining the obstacles that firms face in contracting for external finance than the political independence of the judiciary So, they distinguish among competing explanations of why law matters for financial development by empirically documenting the links running from international differences in legal origin to the operation of the financial system at the firm level

Organizational Issues in the Agrifood Sector: Toward a Comparative Approach

Abstract: International comparisons are increasingly popular in empirical studies of economic organization, financial-market performance, and political economy. Besides providing a broad set of firms and industries to compare, these studies highlight the interaction between the institutional environment—the “rules of the game,” such as property rights, the legal system, the political process, and social norms— and the organizational arrangements trading partners design to govern their relationships. The “law and finance” approach (LaPorta, Lopez-de-Silenas, and Shleifer) suggests that the origin of a country’s legal system (English Common Law, French Civil Law, and so on) largely explains the organization and development of financial markets and corporations, though the relationship may be more subtle and complex than originally thought (Roe). Similarly, recent studies of contracting and regulatory practices find that implementation and performance of comparable contractual arrangements vary systematically with a country’s political and legal systems (Levy and Spiller, Shirley and M ´ enard). The comparative approach can also be usefully applied to organizational change in food and agriculture. Recent U.S. trends, such as consolidation, vertical integration, and the emergence of new network organizations, are also observed in Europe and the developing world. Comparing the nature, causes, and consequences of these trends across countries helps us see what forms of organization are

Law and Firms’ Access to Finance

Abstract: Why does a country's legal origin influence its firms' access to finance? Using data from over 4,000 firms in 38 countries, the authors show that firms in countries with French legal origin face significantly higher obstacles in accessing external finance than firms in common law countries. Next, their results indicate that French legal origin countries tend to have (1) less adaptable legal systems, as defined by the degree to which case law and principles of equity rather than simply statutory law are accepted foundations of legal decisions, and (2) less politically independent judiciaries, as defined by the degree of tenure of supreme court judges and their jurisdiction over cases involving the government. Finally, the authors find that the adaptability of a country's legal system is more important for explaining the obstacles that firms face in contracting for external finance than the political independence of the judiciary. So, they distinguish among competing explanations of why law matters for financial development by empirically documenting the links running from international differences in legal origin to the operation of the financial system at the firm level.

Diffusion of Law: A Global Perspective

Abstract: A number of widespread, but not universal, assumptions underlying contemporary discourse about ‘reception’, ‘transplants’, or ‘transposition’ of law taken together constitute ‘a naive model of diffusion of law’. These assumptions are that: (a) there was an identifiable exporter and importer;(b) the standard case of a reception is export-import between countries;(c) the typical process of reception involves a direct one-way transfer from country A to country B;(d) reception involves formal enactment or adoption;(e) the main objects of a reception are legal rules and concepts;(f) the main agents of export and import are governments;(g) xreception occurs at a particular moment of time;(h) xthe standard case is export by a civil law or common law ‘parent’ legal system to a less developed dependent (e.g. colonial) or adolescent (e.g. ‘transitional’) legal system;(i) the object of reception retains its identity without significant change after the date of reception;(j) the received law either fills a le...

Corporations and Transnational Human Rights Litigation

Abstract: Since the mid-1980s,beginning with the unsuccessful Union Carbide litigation in the USA, litigants have been exploring ways of holding multinational corporations [MNCs] liable for offshore human rights abuses in the courts of the companies' home States. The highest profile cases have been the human rights claims brought against MNCs (such as Unocal, Shell, Rio Tinto, Coca Cola, and Talisman) under the Alien Tort Claims Act in the United States. Such claims also raise issues under customary international law (which may be directly applicable in US federal law) and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations [RICO] statute. Another legal front is found in the USA, England and Australia, where courts have become more willing to exercise jurisdiction over transnational common law tort claims against home corporations. Futhermore, a corporation's human rights practices were indirectly targeted under trade practices law in groundbreaking litigation in California against sportsgoods manufacturer Nike. This new study examines these developments and the procedural arguments (eg regarding personal jurisdiction and especially forum non conveniens) which have been used to block litigation, as well as the principles which can be gleaned from cases which have settled. The analysis is important for human rights victims in order to know the boundaries of possible available legal redress. It is also important for MNCs, which must now take human rights into account in managing the legal risks (as well as moral and reputation risks) associated with offshore projects.

Women's Rights, the European Court, and Supranational Constitutionalism

Abstract: This analysis examines supranational constitutionalism in the European Union. In particular, the study focuses on the role of the European Court of Justice in the creation of women’s rights. I examine the interaction between the Court and member state governments in legal integration, and also the integral role that women’s advocates – both individual activists and groups – have played in the development of EU social provisions. The findings suggest that this litigation dynamic can have the effect of fueling the integration process by creating new rights that may empower social actors and EU organizations, with the ultimate effect of diminishing member state government control over the scope and direction of EU law. This study focuses specifically on gender equality law, yet provides a general framework for examining the case law in subsequent legal domains, with the purpose of providing a more nuanced understanding of supranational governance and constitutionalism.

Judicial Precedents in Civil Law Systems: A Dynamic Analysis

Abstract: The effect of Civil law doctrines of precedent on the process of formation and evolution of case law is examined. Unlike the Common law systems, Civil law jurisdictions do not adopt a stare decisis principle in adjudication. In deciding any given legal issue, precedents serve a persuasive role. Civil law courts are expected to take past decisions into account when there is a sufficient level of consistency in case law. Generally speaking, no single decision binds a court and no relevance is given to split jurisprudence. Once uniform case law develops, courts treat precedents as a source of "soft" law, taking them into account when reaching a decision. The higher the level of uniformity in past precedents, the greater the persuasive force of case law. Although Civil law jurisdictions do not allow dissenting judges to attach a dissent to a majority opinion, cases that do not conform to the dominant trend serve as a signal of dissent among the judiciary. These cases influence future decisions in varying ways in different legal traditions. Judges may also be influenced by recent jurisprudential trends and fads in case law. The evolution of case law under these doctrines of precedents is modeled, considering the possibility for consolidation, corrosion and stability of legal rules. The effect of different doctrines of precedent on the patterns of evolution of the legal system is studied.

International Law as Part of Our Law

Abstract: What did the United States Supreme Court mean when it famously said, “International law is part of our law, and must be ascertained and administered by the courts of justice of appropriate jurisdiction, as often as questions of right depending upon it are duly presented for their determination”? Perhaps the Court was suggesting that, in an interdependent world, United States courts should not decide cases without paying “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind,” in the memorable words of the Declaration of Independence. The framers and early Justices understood that the global legitimacy of a fledgling nation crucially depended upon the compatibility of its domestic law with the rules of the international system within which it sought acceptance. Their recognition seems both prudent and sensible. Even today, for any nation consciously to ignore global standards not only would ensure constant frictions with the rest of the world, but also would diminish that nation's ability to invoke those international rules that served its own national purposes.

Holding Internet Service Providers Accountable

Abstract: Internet service providers are today largely immune from liability for their role in the creation and propagation of worms, viruses, and other forms of malicious computer code. In this Essay, we question that state of affairs. Our purpose is not to weigh in on the details - for example, whether liability should sound in negligence or strict liability, or whether liability is in this instance best implemented by statute or via gradual common law development. Rather, our aim is to challenge the recent trend in the courts and Congress away from liability and toward complete immunity for Internet service providers. In our view, such immunity is difficult to defend on policy grounds, and sharply inconsistent with conventional tort law principles. Internet service providers control the gateway through which Internet pests enter and reenter the public computer system. They should therefore bear some responsibility for stopping these pests before they spread and for helping to identify individuals who originate malicious code in the first place.

The Economic Analysis of Civil Law

Abstract: This comprehensive and established book - first published in German - explains the new approach of law and economics to civil law. Written by two of Europe's leading scholars in the field, it provides a thorough yet accessible economic analysis of tort law, contract law and property law, with particular emphasis placed on legal cases and doctrines from civil law. The authors first review the basic concepts of both normative and positive economics and their links to institutional economics. They move on to develop the economic rationales of tort law and examine the different concepts involved. They also investigate contracts, especially sales contracts, quasi contracts, and pre-contractual duties which play a prominent role in civil law countries. Finally, they provide a comprehensive overview of the economic functions and legal forms of property law. Throughout, the authors analyse and evaluate the complexities of civil law using economic theory, and clearly demonstrate that the legal forms found in civil law frequently serve the purpose of increasing a nation's wealth. This outstanding volume is the first law and economics textbook that concentrates on civil law. It integrates legal doctrines with economic reasoning, and lucidly explains the concepts involved. It requires no prior knowledge of either economics or law and will undoubtedly become the requisite textbook in the field for all students of law, law and economics and business administration. It will also be of great value to academics and practitioners interested in an overview of this area.

What is 'Terrorism'? Problems of Legal Definition

Abstract: In this article the authors review a number of recent legislative efforts to define 'terrorism' in common law jurisdictions and, on the basis of that review, make several recommendations as to the way in which that concept should be defined. These are, broadly: that a general and not a specific approach be adopted; that specific exceptions be made in favour of advocacy and civil protest; and, finally, that legislation should remain the primary means of defining terrorism.

Exclusion and Property Rules in the Law of Nuisance

Abstract: This Article offers a theory of nuisance law based on information costs. Like trespass, much of the law of nuisance relies on a strategy of exclusion in which rights are defined using low-cost signals like boundary crossings that are only indirectly tied to particular uses. Nuisance law also supplements and fine-tunes this Blackstonian package of entitlements by means of a governance strategy, which relies on signals more directly tailored to particular uses. The information-cost advantage of strategies close to the exclusion end of the spectrum helps explain why, despite repeated calls for more balancing, nuisance law focuses on who caused invasions of whose land. Also consistent with an exclusion strategy are the staying power of traditional nonreciprocal notions of causation and the virtual nonexistence in nuisance of Rule 4 liability rules, under which plaintiffs would be permitted to invoke the law to force the polluter either to abate or shut down upon payment of the polluter's damages. Applying Hohfeldian analysis, the Article shows that the common law gives polluters at most a privilege to pollute and that Rule 4 does not refine the basic exclusion regime but rather undermines it. The general question becomes when to soften exclusion with governance and the Article concludes by arguing that, in situations such as oil and gas fields and Boomer-style pollution cases with numerous victims, only small judicial governance-style safety valves are necessary, especially if legislative and administrative solutions are forthcoming. More generally, the information-cost theory of nuisance brings the utilitarian and corrective justice approaches to nuisance closer together. Nuisance law is not a mess or mystery but does contain within it the inflection point between exclusion and governance.

The law and the courts in Ancient Greece

Abstract: How successful were the Athenians and other Greeks in bringing about the rule of law? What did the Greeks recognise as 'law' both in the 'polis' and internationally? How did the courts attempt to implement this ideal, and how successful were they? This collection of essays sets out to answer these questions, concentrating on the following themes: law, religion and the sources of legitimacy; substance and procedure; legal arguments in court; documents and witnesses; and law in an international context. There is much here to interest not only specialists in Greek law, but also those concerned more generally with both Greek history and the history of law.

Discrimination and Dignity

Abstract: Recent Supreme Court jurisprudence under s 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has identified the violation of human dignity as a key element, perhaps the key element in the determination of whether a legislative distinction is discriminatory Although this move has been condemned as introducing a vague and indeterminate concept into equality jurisprudence and for being used to deny worthy claims, it is arguable that some substantive foundation like dignity is needed to make sense of s 15 However, the Supreme Court has not yet done a very good job of explaining what dignity is and how we can identify its violation This article aims to provide a fuller understanding of dignity as a legal value and explain the role is it capable of playing in defining the scope of equality rights It identifies three forms of indignity implicit in the case law to date and interprets features of the Supreme Court's test for the violation of s 15 through a dignity lens

Labour law in an era of globalization : transformative practices and possibilities

Abstract: PART I. LABOUR LAW IN TRANSITION 1. The Horizons of Transformative Labour and Employment Law 2. Labour Law at the Century's End: An Identity Crisis? PART II. CONTESTED CATEGORIES: WORK, WORKER, AND EMPLOYMENT 3. Women, Work, and Family: A British Revolution? 4. Who Needs Labour Law? Defining the Scope of Labour Protection 5. Beyond Labour Law's Parochialism: A Re-envisioning of the Discourse of Distribution PART III. GLOBALIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS 6. Feminization and Contingency: Regulating the Stakes of Work for Women 7. Seeking Post-Seattle Clarity - and Inspiration 8. Death of a Labour Lawyer? PART IV. SAME AS THE OLD BOSS? THE FIRM, THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT, AND THE 'NEW' ECONOMY 9. The Many Futures of the Contract of Employment 10. From Amelioration to Transformation: Capitalism, the Market, and Corporate Reform 11. Death and Suicide from Overwork: The Japanese Workplace and Labour Law 12. A Closer Look at the Emerging Employment Law of Silicon Valley's High-Velocity Labour Market 13. 'A Domain into which the King's writ does not seek to run': Workplace Justice in the Shadow of Employment-at-Will PART V. BORDER/STATES: IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP, AND COMMUNITY 14. The Limits of Labour Law in a Fungible Community 15. Immigration Policies in Southern Europe: More State, Less Market? 16. The Imagined European Community: Are Housewives European Citizens? 17. Critical Reflections on 'Citizenship' as a Progressive Aspiration PART VI. LABOUR SOLIDARITY IN AN ERA OF GLOBALIZATION: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES 18. The Decline of Union Power - Structural Inevitability or Policy Choice? 19. The Voyage of the Neptune Jade: Transnational Labour Solidarity and the Obstacles of Domestic Law 20. Mexican Trade Unionism in a Time of Transition 21. A New Course for Labour Unions: Identity-based Organizing as a Response to Globalization 22. Difference and Solidarity: Unions in a Postmodern Age PART VII. LAYING DOWN THE LAW: STRATEGIES AND FRONTIERS 23. Is There a Third Way in Labour Law? 24. Private Ordering and Workers' Rights in the Global Economy: Corporate Codes of Conduct as a Regime of Labour Market Regulation 25. Emancipation through Law or the Emasculation of Law? The Nation-State, the EU, and Gender Equality at Work 26. Social Rights, Social Citizenship, and Transformative Constitutionalism: A Comparative Assessment Index

Modernizing Muslim Family Law: The Case of Egypt

Abstract: The Author discusses the dynamics of family law reforms in modern Egypt as an instance of similar dynamics of reforms in other Muslim countries. The forces that push for reforms as well as those that try to limit them are also introduced. The Author begins by describing the historical legal background shared by the vast majority of Muslim countries, including Egypt. An account of the general evolution of Islamic law-from a dominant system existing within an Islamic state to a subordinate system existing within an overall secularized legal system characterized by legal borrowing from European codes-is given. Islamic law has survived in the modern era primarily through family law, having lost jurisdiction over most other areas of law. The Author next describes the nature of modern reforms of family law in Egypt. She argues that these reforms have been structurally limited because the Egyptian elites controlling the state pursued the policy of splitting the difference between the demands of women activists in Egypt pushing for liberal feminist reforms and those of a conservative religious intelligentsia that was antagonistic to these reforms. This policy of splitting the difference was notable in the nature of legislative reforms, family law adjudication by lower family courts, as well as in the constitutional adjudication of family law issues by the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt. The Author ultimately argues that the only way to push for reforms in family law without the constraining influences of the religious intelligentsia is to secularize the legal system in its totality.

A history of public law in Germany, 1914-1945

Abstract: This history of the discipline of public law in Germany covers three dramatic decades of the twentieth century. It opens with the First World War, analyses the highly creative years of the Weimar Republic, and recounts the decline of German public law that began in 1933 and extended to the downfall of the Third Reich. The author examines the dialectic of scholarship and politics against the background of long-term developments in industrial societies, the rise of the interventionist state, the shift of state law and administrative law theory, and the emergence of new disciplines (tax law, social law, labour law, business administration law). Almost all the issues and questions that preoccupy state law and administrative law theory at the dawn of the twenty-first century were first pondered and debated during this period. Stolleis begins by emphasizing the long farewell to the nineteenth century and then moves on to examine the doctrine of state law and administrative law during the First World War. The impact of the Weimar Constitution and the of the Versailles Treaty on the discipline is discussed. Here the famous 'quarrel of direction' that occurred in the field of state law doctrine (1926-1929) played a central role. But equally important was the development of state law and administrative law theory (in both the Reich and its constituent states), administrative doctrine, and the jurisprudence of international law. Part two of the book is devoted to the impact of National Socialism. The displacement of Jewish scholars, the change of direction in the professional journals, and the shutdown of the Association of State Law Teachers form one aspect of the story. The other aspect is manifested in the erosion of public law and in the growing sense of depression that gripped its practitioners. In the end, it was not only state law that was destroyed by the Nazi experience, but the scholarly discipline that went with it. The author tackles questions about the co-responsibility of scholars for the Holocaust, and the reasons fwhy academic teachers of public law were all but absent in the opposition to the Nazi regime.

Worlds Apart: Western and Central European Judicial Culture at the Onset of the European Enlargement

Abstract: In this article, I would like to explore the legal culture and judicial methodology prevailing in post-Communist Europe. The first part deals with the transformation during the last century of continental law and its legal reasoning and judicial methodology. In contrast, the second part shows a very different development in nations of "really existing socialism,"as they were often called, with the emphasis on the post-Stalinist decades. The decline of law and the judiciary in communist societies also caused a degeneration of their judicial methodology. The key third part of the article describes and analyzes the present situation in post-communist nations, including doctrinal developments and case law. My argument is that a steady process of fundamental legal change in the judicial ideology of decision-making is taking place in the countries of Central Europe. However,

Colonization and the Rule of Law: Comparing the Effectiveness of Common Law and Civil Law Countries

Abstract: The rule of law is one of the most important components of any explanation of cross-national differences in economic well-being. But what leads to better rule of law in a country? Using an institutional approach this paper probes the effect of legal systems in influencing the rule of law. There has long been speculation that the countries adopting English common law are better at providing legal dispute resolution than those adopting the continental forms of civil law. That speculative assessment is found to be true only in those countries that have been colonized, further analysis demonstrates that it is the effectiveness of the protection of property rights in common law systems rather than the institutions themselves that influence rule of law statistics. The paper calls for a more refined examination of legal systems which takes into consideration whether law is organically developed or transplanted.

The Regulation of Labor

Abstract: We investigate the regulation of labor markets through employment, collective relations, and social security laws in 85 countries. We find that the political power of the left is associated with more stringent labor regulations and more generous social security systems, and that socialist, French, and Scandinavian legal origin countries have sharply higher levels of labor regulation than do common law countries. However, the effects of legal origins are larger, and explain more of the variation in regulations, than those of politics. Heavier regulation of labor is associated with lower labor force participation and higher unemployment, especially of the young. These results are most naturally consistent with legal theories, according to which countries have pervasive regulatory styles inherited from the transplantation of legal systems.

The Law of State Aid in the European Union

Abstract: © The various contributors 2003. All rights reserved. EC State aid law represents an increasingly important part of EC competition law. The case law at national and European levels is growing rapidly, both in quantity and importance. Significant and increasingly frequent legislative and regulatory measures have been adopted at the European level in this field. There are various reasons for this developing EU focus on public intervention in the economy, however the fundamental and primary rationale is the completion of the internal market, and the pressure which that brings for liberalization and privatization. This volume analyses the concept of aid and examines fundamental questions concerning the scope of State aid law. It also offers a comparison with World Trade Organization (WTO) provisions on subsidies and looks at EEA and applicant states' State aid regimes. It then focuses upon selected areas of State aid law and policy. The final part of the book is devoted to an assessment of the system of remedies and enforcement both at the European Union and national level. The contributors to this volume come from a wide variety of backgrounds: they include academics, practitioners, the judiciary, and Government representatives at both national and EU level.

Unveiling The Headscarf Debate

Abstract: In March 2004 the French parliament controversially adopted legislation regulating the wearing of symbols indicating religious affiliation in public educational establishments. This note discusses several features of the new law indicating its origins, its rationale and its position within French constitutional discourse on religious freedom and secularity. It is based on a panel discussion held in April 2004 within the Gender Studies Programme at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence. Placing the French legislative initiative in the context of recent developments in national and European case law (suggesting clear limitations to freedom of religion), the note explores the complexity of issues of gender, identity and difference in the present debate, especially when considered in the light of reactions to the law in Islamic countries.

Jurisdictional Competition and the Evolution of the Common Law: A Hypothesis

Abstract: A study analysing the implications of competition for the evolution of the common law in England is illustrated. An important legal change in England from the twelfth century to the nineteenth century was that the courts competed by giving the plaintiffs more leverage. This 'leverage' involved giving plaintiffs more choices, making court procedures cheaper, swifter and more effective and developing legal doctrines. These changes in turn made it difficult for defendants to prevail; the result of competition among the courts led to pro-plaintiff bias in the common law.