Vol. 8 No. 5 (May 1998) p. 235.

EUROPEAN LEGAL CULTURES
by Volkmar Gessner, Armin Hoeland, and Csaba Varga (Editors). Aldershot, UK: Dartmouth, 1996. 567 pages. $69.95. ISBN 1-85521-526-8.

Reviewed by Mary L. Volcansek, Department of Political Science, Florida International University.


EUROPEAN LEGAL CULTURES was published as part of a European Union program to foster economic reform in Central and Eastern Europe that promotes inter-institutional activities across the former East-West divide. This is the first of a three-volume work, undertaken by scholars in Oñati, Spain; Bremen, Germany; and Budapest, Hungary to introduce the West European legal tradition. It is a text, but for most Americans, a text worth reading. Legal culture is used loosely to capture two dimensions of the West European legal tradition: the philosophical and theoretical questions of law and the socio-legal conception of the contexts in which law is made, interpreted, applied and developed.

That vast rubric allowed the editors to gather in a single volume 76 articles, reprinted from other publications, that capture some of the major considerations in understanding the West European legal tradition. Its scope is wide, beginning with historical considerations, the common-law civil law dichotomy, Roman law, and European Union law. It then moves to what it labels "the European Legal Mind," in which legal reasoning, STARE DECISIS, legal terminologies, and modes of interpretation across Western nations are all considered. Part III presents the "Totalitarian Legal Culture," and considers both National Socialism in Germany under Hitler and Soviet law. The next part includes country by country or cross-national perspectives on everything from juvenile justice and administrative law to criminal law and labor law. It also has articles on legal professions, the legislative process, and the role of the market. Part IV covers the literature on transitions to democratic legal systems and includes not only pieces on constitutionalism, but also on the specific experiences of Central and East European systems. The final section is devoted to the European Union, which seems appropriate since it is the body that is financing the endeavor.

This collection is noteworthy for its breadth and for its careful selections of work for inclusion. There are classics by Max Weber, Mauro Cappelletti, Harold Berman, and Jean-Paul Jacqué, along with more contemporary works. Some excellent bibliography is presented that is not readily available to the American reader. Almost all chapters are by Europeans, and that alone makes it a must read for Americans working on European legal topics. Writings published in their original languages are translated into English, making them accessible to the North American with limited linguistic capabilities. Some of the work now being produced by American judicial specialists on the European topics seems to be approached without a full comprehension of how Europeans see and use law and legal institutions; this book offers an easy opening into the European perspective. The collection bridges not only the gap to the East for which it was intended, but one equally or perhaps even wider across the Atlantic.


Copyright 1998 by the author