Common law

About: Common law is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 30135 publications have been published within this topic receiving 280701 citations. The topic is also known as: judicial precedent & judge-made law.

Economic and Legal Aspects of the Most Favoured Nation Clause

Abstract: The Most-Favored Nation clause (MFN) forbids Members of a trade agreement to discriminate between trading partners. It is typically seen as one of the main features of the multilateral trading system, and appears in several of the agreements in the World Trade Organization. There seems to be a rather widespread belief among policy makers that there are strong economic rationales for the MFN provision. The purpose of the Paper is to survey economic theory that may shed light on whether this view is well founded or not, and to summarise salient features of the case law as it concerns MFN.

In-Between Worlds: Marleasing and the Emergence of Interlegality in Legal Reasoning

Abstract: Lawmakers and scholars are so busy looking for new ways to develop a European private law that they are failing to see the virtues of an already existing private law harmonisation tool. This tool is the requirement of interpretation in conformity with directives as it has been designed by the Court of Justice in Marleasing and its progeny. In this paper, it is submitted that this case law operating at the level of rules on legal reasoning, and not at the level of substantive law, is a far more sophisticated means of private law harmonisation than all the measures discussed in the last years. Namely, the requirement of interpretation in conformity with directives is allowing the Common Market to develop coherently without neglecting the significance of national legal cultures. How this difficult equilibrium between harmonisation and legal pluralism might be maintained by the tool the Court of Justice developed in Marleasing is explained in this paper with the help of evolutionary jurisprudence.

Roman Canon Law in Reformation England

Abstract: Preface List of abbreviations Table of statutes Table of cases 1. The medieval inheritance 2. The fortunes of ecclesiastical jurisdiction 3. Developments in law and legal practice 4. The literature of civilian practice 5. The civilians and English common law Appendices Index.

'Here, There and Everywhere': Human Dignity in Contemporary Law and in the Transnational Discourse

Abstract: Over the past several decades, human dignity has become an omnipresent idea in contemporary law. This Article surveys the use of human dignity by domestic and international courts and describes the concept’s growing role in transnational discourse, with special attention paid to the case law of the United States Supreme Court. The Article then examines the legal nature of human dignity, finding it to be a constitutional principle rather than a freestanding fundamental right, and develops a unifying and universal identity for the concept. At its core, human dignity contains three elements - intrinsic value, autonomy and community value - and each element has unique legal implications. The Article then considers how this elemental approach to human dignity analysis can assist in structuring legal reasoning and justifying judicial choices in hard cases, such as abortion, same-sex marriage and assisted suicide.

Towards the Conceptualisation of Maritime Delimitation: Legal and Technical Aspects of Political Process

Abstract: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea sets a normative framework for an integrated governance of the oceans, with far-reaching implications for states Its implementation - as to navigation rights, preservation of marine environment, exploitation of resources, economic jurisdiction, or any other marine issues - depends however on one central issue: the spatial allocation of authority This thesis examines one specific aspect of this international legal problem - maritime boundary delimitation A major challenge for this thesis lies in the fact that its subject has been extensively and thoroughly reviewed, both in scholarship and in jurisprudence Notwithstanding this, a closer look reveals a paucity of conceptual analysis Drawing on historical elements, as well as on state practice and case law, the present thesis endeavours to further the understanding of maritime delimitation from a conceptual standpoint Focusing on the development of conventional provisions on delimitation, Part I eventually argues that the so-called 'equitable principles doctrine' is not customary law What is part of customary law is an obligation of result: maritime delimitations must resulting equitable solutions The distinction between these propositions becomes clear in Part II By deconstructing the subject into its three core issues - concept, methods and normativity, this thesis submits that the said obligation is to be met through the optimisation of two legal principles: the principle of maritime zoning and the principle of equity Whilst suggesting that the watchword is reasonableness, it proposes that the reasonableness of the boundary be objectified by reference to a novel concept: the average 'distance ratio' of the line As a denouement, Part III investigates the 'discovery' of boundary-lines Recognising that the legal determination of maritime boundaries consists of a multiple-factor analysis, in which the sphere of discretion conferred upon courts is critical, it aims at improving reasoning discourse through 'multicriteria decision-making' and the utilisation of 'yardsticks' After discussing which elements of the 'factual matrix' are legally relevant, and how they bear on the 'discovery' of the boundary-line, this thesis offers a test study intended to validate the conceptualisation proposed