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2023 | Book

Handbook on Legal Cultures

A Selection of the World's Legal Cultures

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About this book

Cooperation across borders requires both knowledge of and understanding of different cultures. This is especially true when it comes to the law. This handbook is the first to comprehensively present selected legal cultures based on a very specific set of structural elements which can be found in all such cultures. Legal cultures are a product of and impacted by certain fundamental and commonly shared ideas on and expectations of the law. In all modern societies these ideas are to a certain degree institutionalized or at least embedded in institutionalized practices. These practices determine the way lawyers are educated and apply the law, how they engage with the ongoing internationalization of law and what kind of values they adhere to. Looking at these elements separately enables the reader to identify similarities and differences and to explain them contextually. Understanding these general features of legal cultures can help avoid misunderstandings or misinterpretations of foreign law and its application. Accordingly, this handbook is a necessary starting point for all kinds of legal comparative studies conducted by academics, students, judges and other legal practitioners.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Legal Cultures: Combining Diversity and Structure
Abstract
This chapter sets out the aim of this book: to provide legal cultural knowledge in a way that combines diversity and structure. The chapter presents the analytical framework of the book—the Legal Cultural Model (LCM)—and explains how it is used throughout the publication. Furthermore, it sets out the ambition to organically extend the systematic gathering of knowledge of other legal cultures by applying the LCM in future editions of this book.
Sören Koch, Marius Mikkel Kjølstad
Legal Culture: Ideas of and Expectations to Law Made Operational by Institutional(-Like) Practices
Abstract
This chapter discusses the notion of legal culture, its relationship with communication and its use from an appliance and analytical point of view. The importance of context is emphasised and illustrated by a picture of legal culture as a legal sea with different layers that are in constant interaction. Based on these initial observations, the definition and purpose of the operationalised concept of legal culture used in this volume are developed. By transferring this concept into an analytical model—the legal cultural model—with six elements, the chapter creates the theoretical foundation for the structure of the individual chapters in this book. It explains the function, merits but also limitations of the legal cultural model illustrated by examples taken from the Norwegian legal culture.
Jørn Øyrehagen Sunde
An Introduction to Australian Legal Culture
Abstract
This chapter examines the unique legal history of Australia and how it has contributed to the existing legal culture. Necessarily, it also considers the impact of the colonies on Australian legal culture, especially the nine separate legal systems that have developed and, for a time, a tenth legal system on an island inhabited by descendants from the crew of The Bounty, which mutinied in April 1789. Included in this analysis is a consideration of the scope and development of federal constitutional powers and their impact on legal culture. The chapter considers the role and nature of dispute resolution in Australian courts, including the use of alternative dispute resolution, particularly negotiation. Norm production is considered through an analysis of the Australian Constitution, the role of judicial decisions as precedent, and statutes as legal norms. It also considers the features unique to common law, including equity and good faith. Of course, a consideration of Australian legal culture would not be complete without an analysis of the legal profession, including legal education and professional qualification, which are covered in detail. Given the multiple legal jurisdictions in Australia, this chapter also considers the nationalisation and internationalisation of law as part of the development of Australia’s legal culture.
Tina Soliman Hunter
An Introduction to Austrian Legal Culture
Abstract
Austria as a continental European civil law system is the result of legal developments of the monarchy in the nineteenth century. The establishment of the republic in 1918 was followed by the enactment of the Federal Constitutional Act in 1920, which was significantly influenced by Hans Kelsen. The new republican Constitution also led to the establishment of a court of centralised constitutional review, the Austrian Constitutional Court. The hierarchy of norms comprising a strict principle of legality and the principle of legal certainty have played an important role. In contrast to this, civil proceedings are more characterised by substantive concepts of justice. After the Second World War, recognition of the importance of human rights increased tremendously. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is part of the Austrian Constitution and has a major influence on it. Austria’s accession to the European Union (EU) in 1995 also shaped the legal landscape significantly. In this regard, it can be said that Austrian legal culture is Euro-friendly. EU law has an overwhelming impact, and courts are generally open-minded (e.g. regarding preliminary proceedings). Legal comparison performed by courts and by academia mainly focuses on Germany but lacks a global and multicultural perspective.
Konrad Lachmayer, Niklas Sonntag
An Introduction to Belgian Legal Culture
Abstract
Belgium is a small but complex country with an interesting and unique legal culture. It lies on the historical vault between Germanic and Romanic Europe, as a result of which the country has three different languages (respectively Dutch and German versus French) and two main populations, Flemish and French-speaking Belgians. Originally a unitary state, Belgium has transformed into a federal state through successive state reforms, with the new Constitutional Court as an arbiter between the different entities, which are all equal and without hierarchy. This in its turn has resulted in two emerging subcultures that are slowly but steadily drifting apart. Internationalization and Europeanization are adding some layer to the already complex mosaic of cultural diversity in this small jurisdiction at the very centre of Europe. Historically and as an offspring of the French legal culture, the Belgian legal culture is a civil law system with a set of (originally Napoleonic) codifications and a rational judicial system. The organization of the judiciary and the application of laws in many ways reflect the ideal of law and justice in Belgium: accessible, tailor-made, specialized, and sufficiently flexible to include considerations of individual justice, with the necessary checks and balances. Just like the French legal culture, the Belgian legal culture is strictly legally positivistic and has a high degree of professionalization.
Bruno Debaenst
An Introduction to the Legal Cultures of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia (Western Balkan)
Abstract
This chapter explores the legal cultures of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia through an analysis of institutional and intellectual elements of the legal cultural model. Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia—former Yugoslav republics, now independent states—belong to the European-continental legal family, even though they for a while were classified as a third (socialist) legal family. They are today referred to as “legal cultures in transition.” These legal cultures are characterized by the introduction of pluralistic democracy, rule of law, legal formalism, as well as legal transplants from Western countries.
A common history and language shared by these states, together with an aspiration towards a future in the European Union in post-socialist period, have resulted in many common features of these legal cultures. Although they no longer have common institutions, the similarities are visible with regard to intellectual elements, particularly in legal reasoning and the operationalization of the law. This blend of common features creates a “uniquely shared something” that can be defined as a regional legal culture.
Lana Bubalo
An Introduction to Chinese Legal Culture
Abstract
The People’s Republic of China adopts the continental legal cultural pattern. Laws made by the National People’s Congress and regulations stipulated by the State Council and the central government departments form the main sources of law. A new trend of norm production in China is to codify more laws after the Civil Code was promulgated in 2022. The statute-like judicial interpretation issued by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate also functions as a binding source of law. Even though cases have no binding force in China, the system of guiding cases is promoted to unify the application of legislation. While the second instance is final in China, the courts are four tiered, with the Supreme People’s Court at the top. The recent judicial reform provides evidence that new types of special courts, such as Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) courts, Internet courts and financial courts, are established to get along with the developing market economy. Deductive syllogism is the basic tool for legal reasoning which judges can use to arrive at a judgment. Case-specially, judges will use the idea of equity to satisfy the basic values of good faith, fairness, voluntariness, public interests, etc. Legal education in China offers a variety of degree programmes, such as LL.B., LL.M. and Ph.D. programmes in law. Patterned after the US Juris Doctor programme, the 3-year-long Juris Master programme is available to applicants without a law major bachelor’s degree.
Dong Jiang
An Introduction to Colombian Legal Culture
Abstract
The legal sphere has been central to the shaping of the Republic of Colombia since its beginnings. The law has been an instrument for structural violence but also, importantly, for the pursuit of social justice and peace. The institutional structure of this legal culture encompasses centralized norm production and multilayer hierarchies of specialized jurisdictions for conflict resolution. Codified laws are reserved for Congress and undergo constitutional judicial review, including possible incompatibilities with ratified human rights treaties. Past abuses of the norm production power of the President under states of exception, and distrust in the capacity of Congress to represent all members of the nation, have led to a strengthening of judicial review. Checks and balances among the branches of power are common and considered key to democracy, although they are not unproblematic. The intellectual structure of this legal culture includes a two-level ideal of justice: direct and structural. To decide cases, judges are bound only by written law; other legal sources are auxiliary criteria. Precedent is not a primary source except in constitutional jurisdiction, which has gained a stronger role in the past three decades. There is an openness toward internationalization, multilateralism, and the granting of jurisdiction to international courts.
Catalina Vallejo Piedrahíta, Tania Luna Blanco, Olga Velásquez Ocampo
An Introduction to Dutch Legal Culture
Abstract
Sometimes a legal culture is shaped by what is not a part of it. The Dutch case offers an insightful example: it comprises a legal system without constitutional review, let alone a constitutional court. The way Dutch doctrine and legal practice work around these legal institutional lacunae forms a prominent feature of the Dutch legal culture. It explains, for instance, why the Netherlands is one of the very few legal systems wherein it is accepted that treaty provisions could override the Constitution in cases of conflict and why courts make use of this opportunity. Yet this loose, ‘pragmatic’ and rule-breaking legal attitude is not limited to the judicial field. Rather, it pervades various dimensions of the Dutch legal culture, from conflict resolution to the Dutch ideal of justice and a disinterest in the concept of sovereignty. This pragmatism is not a creatio ex nihilo but the product of an organic development of Dutch history.
Niels Graaf
A Legal Cultural “Take” on the Legal System of England and Wales
Abstract
This chapter provides a comprehensive introduction to several of the key features that serve to distinguish the English and Welsh legal cultures. Starting with the historical backdrop to the development of the common law system and the centralisation of the judiciary, it is shown how several court hierarchies have come to exist and how they interact with one another and, further, how norm production in the United Kingdom today consists of a complex blend of common law, statute and international (including European) sources, with increasing amounts of secondary (i.e. delegated) legislation. The unique development of equity as a distinct branch of law is also explained and how in situations of conflict it will prevail over common law but must yield to statute. The legal method of common lawyers and various paths of professionalisation are likewise described. Finally, the relationship between international, European and UK law is mapped out, with a particular focus on the significant changes wrought by Brexit and the recent reform proposals to human rights protection, both of which seem to indicate a stricter dualist approach for the future.
Christian N. K. Franklin
An Introduction to Estonian Legal Culture
Abstract
Estonia is a civil law country with codified legislation and strong Germanic influences. The primary source of law is statutory law, whereas case law from the Supreme Court is binding for practical purposes, especially in cases where no explicit statutory provision exists. Scholarly writing and explanatory notes are important interpretive tools but not strictly binding sources of law. The court system is organised in a three-tier hierarchy where administrative and district courts serve as courts of first instance, two circuit courts as courts of appeal and the Supreme Court as a court of cassation and constitutional review. With a trend towards specialisation, the court system looks more like three separate hierarchies—administrative, civil, and criminal court systems. A high degree of professionalisation is guaranteed by high-level legal education. A 3-year bachelor’s degree in law combined with 2-year master’s is considered the basic qualification for admission to classical legal professions. Mobility between different professions is encouraged through mutual recognition of entry examinations between the judiciary, the prosecutor’s office, and the bar association. The legal order is monist, and, therefore, binding international law forms part of domestic law. International treaties and international court practice can be directly relied upon in domestic courts. A high degree of and a positive attitude towards the internationalisation of law and international impulses are important features of the Estonian legal culture.
Merike Ristikivi, Andreas Kangur, Irene Kull, Katre Luhamaa, Marin Sedman, Hesi Siimets-Gross, Age Värv
An Introduction to Ethiopian Legal Culture
Abstract
Ethiopia is a diverse country, with a predominantly agrarian and religious population. It enjoys a long but equally contested history. Its traditional legal system revolved around issues of ascension to power, land use, and rituals of a good life. Modern Ethiopia, where a centralized administration was attained, only began at the turn of the twentieth century, and the codification of its laws during the 1950s and 1960s has been a major milestone in this period. In recognition of its diversity and hoping to stem recurring political conflicts in the country, federalism was introduced as a state structure in 1991. Accordingly, state power is divided between the federal and regional governments. The federal government is parliamentarian and has a bicameral parliament, with the upper house uniquely tasked with settling constitutional disputes. Religious and traditional dispute-resolution mechanisms are also given constitutional recognition. While the legal system principally features the civil law legal tradition, it has recently introduced a partial precedent system. Weak democratic institutions, undeveloped legal education, and a nascent legal profession render discussions on distinct legal methods in Ethiopia difficult. Despite these limitations and by focusing on federal laws and institutions, this chapter presents the salient features of the Ethiopian legal culture, following the model used in this book.
Eyob Awash Gebremariam, Mulu Beyene Kidanemariam
An Introduction to EU Legal Culture
Abstract
The legal culture of the European Union (EU) has a special place in this volume. The EU is neither a state nor an international organisation in the traditional sense but constitutes a politically highly integrated supranational multi-level system of governance with strong federal features. With its complex and dynamic character, the EU has developed a distinct legal culture in many regards. It has its own mechanisms of dispute resolution and norm production, an autonomous legal method, as well as a distinct attitude towards justice and internationalisation. At the same time, the EU is a product of and encapsulates the cultural, political, and linguistic diversity of its Member States. Some of the legal cultural elements are less developed than others, such as the degree to which it is possible to identify common features of a European legal profession. This dual character of the EU is not to be understood as a design flaw of the EU. It reflects the very foundational idea on which the EU has been built: “United in diversity”.
Johann Ruben Leiss
An Introduction to Finnish Legal Culture
Abstract
The Finnish legal culture bears close affinity to the Swedish legal culture, from which it historically stems, as well as the other Nordic countries. Finland has two parallel court hierarchies, general courts and administrative courts, and has only a few special courts, and it has low litigation rates because most cases are resolved in out-of-court proceedings. While the main method for norm production is the enactment of statutes, Finland does not have codes, only single acts. Court practice, especially quasi-precedents from Supreme Courts; preparatory works; practices of lower courts and central government organisations; and legal scholarship are also important sources of law. When construing a legal norm, Finnish lawyers weigh arguments drawn from the sources of law, with the text of legislative acts forming the starting point. The prevailing ideal of justice can be characterised as a mixture of predictability and equity. Although a 5-year master’s degree in law is a prerequisite for entering into law practice, the legal profession, particularly the judges, is not very specialised. As in other European legal cultures, European supranational law increasingly permeates Finnish law and legal culture.
Anna Nylund
An Introduction to French Legal Culture
Abstract
French legal culture is mainly characterised by its historical heritage, duality, specialisation, and republican values. These characteristics permeate the institutions, and the way French lawyers think and act.
The institutional structure in French legal culture consists of a system for conflict resolution which is primarily based on two court hierarchies (judicial and administrative) with a rather high degree of specialisation in first instance and appeal (and internally). It is also based on a system of heavy norm production (relying on approximately 77 effective codes and several statutes). General principles of law and custom (especially in commercial law) are also considered official sources of law. Jurisprudence is de facto important.
The intellectual structure of the French legal culture can be analysed within the concept of ideal of justice, legal method (syllogism, use of general principle of laws developed by the courts, etc.), degree of professionalisation (different educations and trainings) and character of internationalisation, as the French legal system is neither a pure dualist system, nor a pure monist system. French law is regularly amended to adapt to European law and take into account the case law from the CJEU and ECtHR, and judgments from these courts that are binding for France are directly applied in courts.
Sunniva Cristina Bragdø-Ellenes, Iris Nguyên Duy
An Introduction to German Legal Culture
Abstract
The German legal culture has been coined by a turbulent history. Over the centuries, two main characteristics of this legal culture emerged and particularly impacted the intellectual framework, that is, lawyers’ attitude towards the law, its foundation and application: First, the scientific approach to the law and, second, the idea of law as a logical and coherent system of legal norms and principles. Both notions have left traces on the institutions of norm production and conflict resolution. However, because the political framework was changing quite dramatically, especially since the eighteenth century, institutional continuity, and organic development which we can observe in many other countries such as England or Norway have no equivalents in Germany. The end of World War II marks the last major upheaval in the German legal culture. During the following decades, a new and third characteristic notion of the contemporary German legal culture emerged: the extraordinarily important role of the constitutional order, as well as its dynamic interpretation and application by the Federal Constitutional Court.
Sören Koch
An Introduction to Hungarian Legal Culture
Abstract
This chapter deals with the legal culture of Hungary, surveying various salient features of its development and character. The study highlights the importance of certain historical factors and the impact of different legal cultures and traditions on Hungary. The broader phenomenon of internationalisation is explored including European Union integration and certain issues which have arisen in recent times. Such characteristics as the basic structure of Hungary’s legal and governmental system are introduced, as well as elements of its specific approach and outlook. The country’s legal profession, judiciary and the nature of the country’s constitutional character and features are examined. This includes surveying developments on both the country’s constitution as well as in the area of norm production.
Daniel Haitas
An Introduction to Italian Legal Culture
Abstract
Italy’s contribution to legal cultures in Europe and beyond is phenomenal as the country is often viewed as the source of the civil law tradition. Given the country’s kaleidoscopic history and relatively short unitary experience, however, the very quandary to confront head-on is whether the Italian legal culture exists, or is rather a conceptual artefact. After examining Italy’s socio-cultural context and legal history, this chapter establishes that the enabling conditions for the emergence of an Italian legal culture have not surfaced before 1861. To establish whether the Italian legal culture has formed after 1861, this analysis sheds thus light on the elements of the legal cultural model and their interaction. This chapter finds that the legal cultural model enables the articulation of significative and surprising aspects of what we can safely hold to be the Italian legal culture. Notably, to bring some order to the hyperlegalization of social life, courts have emerged as crucial enablers of legal-cultural unity in Italy. Particularly, Italian courts have devised substantive and institutional strategies drifting Italy toward new legal-cultural shores, notably a system that we call “attenuated stare decisis,” and judicial lawmaking confrontations even with the International Court of Justice. Overall, rather than a “majoritarian” model of power-sharing, courts have tried to secure a “Madisonian” model where justices, professionals, and doctrine are interpreters of societal changes and needs, often in opposition to a fragmented political system.
Esmeralda Colombo, Lars Kvestad
An Introduction to Mexican Legal Culture
Abstract
The ideas and expectations of law in a country as diverse as Mexico are responded to by a highly formalistic legal culture. Mexican history and politics provide an approach to law where forms take precedence over substance, including the Constitution.
Formally a federation, where states are the basic unit of government, Mexico in practice operates with a powerful federal government that centralizes legal functions. The Mexican institutional structure is very hierarchical: Norm production is concentrated in the legislative power, and somewhat specialized federal courts remain the ultimate fora for conflict resolution. Intellectually, the legal method is preponderantly a rigid application of deduction. Internationalization follows a monist approach, where international treaties are ranked as high as the Constitution. The ideal of justice favors outcome-predictability. There is a high degree of professionalization, although with important qualitative variations.
Monica Naime, Juan Luis Cervantes
An Introduction to Norwegian Legal Culture
Abstract
The Norwegian legal culture is coined by a quite pragmatic approach to law facilitated by a combination of a traditionally low esteem for a systematic approach to law and a predominantly fragmentary legislation. Legal conflicts are resolved in a simple three-tiered court hierarchy, with courts having general competence to deal with all kinds of legal issues. This includes constitutional review, which is carried out by courts at all levels instead of one specialised constitutional court. In other fields as well, specialised legal institutions are the exception. At the same time, most civil law cases are resolved outside the ordinary court system. Extra-judicial conflict resolution shows a higher degree of specialisation. Furthermore, the prevailing ideals of justice and legal method have been impacted by legal realism. Combined with a generalist approach towards law, this way of thinking has shaped legal professionalisation as well. Despite some recent criticism, Norwegian lawyers and politicians have traditionally shown an open and friendly attitude towards international and supranational law and prioritise a moderate dualistic approach. As member of the EEA Agreement, Norway is closely linked to the European Union. Judgements by the ECJ, the EFTA Court and the ECtHR are treated as quasi precedents.
Marius Mikkel Kjølstad, Sören Koch, Jørn Øyrehagen Sunde
An Introduction to Polish Legal Culture
Abstract
The Polish legal culture is traditionally strongly impacted by the civil law tradition and shows holds some characteristic notions of this tradition. Particularly, the focus on systematically organised codes, a rather high degree of specialisation in courts, including the existence of a constitutional Tribunal. Legal predictability was the prevailing ideal of justice and deduction from legislation the starting point for the application of law. Legal education was contributing to a high degree of professionalisation with a focus on liberal ideas and protection of human rights with a strong international impact. However, since 2015 the traditional culture has been challenged by the attempts of the right-wing government to limit the independence and transparency of the courts, applying a narrative of inefficiency the surface level of the legal culture has changed dramatically. However, due to external and internal resistance, some reforms were revised. Still, it seems clear that the polish legal culture is currently changing. It remains to be seen to what extent and in which direction.
A. Klimaszewska, A. Machnikowska, Sören Koch
An Introduction to Scottish Legal Culture
Abstract
Legal culture may be defined as ideas and expectations of law made operational by institutional (-like) practices. In other words, legal culture can be analysed in terms of its ‘institutional’ elements—identified as mechanisms of conflict resolution and norm production—and its ‘intellectual elements’—ideas and expectations of law manifested in terms of an ideal of justice, legal method, the degree of professionalisation and the character of internationalisation within the culture in question. The present contribution takes this analytical model and applies it to the law of Scotland. In terms of conflict resolution, it draws attention to Scotland’s two primary hierarchies of courts, these being the civil and the criminal courts. In terms of norm production, it explores statute and precedent, and the use of authoritative juristic works known as the Institutional Writings. It presents the Scottish ideal of justice as being shaped by a desire for legal certainty, and notes that Scottish legal method is complex, as informed by the equally complex history of Scots law itself. There is a high degree of professionalisation within the culture, with a strong emphasis on academic training. Lawyers and legal academics also frequently show significant willingness to entertain ideas drawn from without Scottish legal culture, and intellectually cosmopolitan outlooks are valued.
Andrew R. C. Simpson
An Introduction to Spanish Legal Culture
Abstract
The Spanish legal culture is strongly impacted by and can be ascribed to the civil law tradition and has been labelled part of the Romano-French legal family. The strong focus on the division between private and public law, both in education and in the institutional structures of the Spanish legal order as well as the rather formalistic and legalistic approach to the law also resembling the style of judgments and the framing of legislation, seem to support this traditional taxonomy. However, applying the legal cultural model as presented in this volume, reveals also some rather unique features of the contemporary Spanish legal culture, which are not captured by this traditional view. One of these features—at least seen from the perspective of Catalan-based Spanish lawyers (both authors of this chapter are professors at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)—is the internal tensions between autonomous communities and the central state. These tensions are caused by the existence of both separate political but also legal cultures in the different communities which are today united under the umbrella of Spain. Interestingly, despite having established a unified system of courts and other means of conflict resolution, norms are produced by multiple legislators, including not only the national Spanish parliament, the EU and other international organisations, but also the parliaments of the autonomous communities. Conflicts arising from conflicting internal regulations are solved by applying the principles of international private law. Other interesting features are the rather unique way of implementing international law and the outstanding role of public notaries in the Spanish legal culture.
Josep Maria de Dios Marcer, Josep Cañabate Pérez
An Introduction to Swedish Legal Culture
Abstract
Sweden can be framed as a history of ambiguity, making the law of the realm a natural part of what is often referred to as a Nordic mixed legal system. Civil law ideas are combined with typical common law elements, topped with traces of legal engineering of the welfare state. Any compromise seems possible. This chapter explores the Swedish legal culture in a heuristic manner, focused particularly on finding historical and structural explanations to the open-ended legal method, sometimes seen as way to define and demarcate Swedish law. A case study of the Girjas judgement provide a contemporary and momentary picture of the broad range of sources that can be referred to by Swedish Supreme Court Justices when justifying their decisions. Contextual elements are therefore used primarily to explain how the most important legal sources are reproduced, valued, and interrelate. Possible explanations to the plurality of sources are found in the long and evolutionary development of legal institutions and practices. Old and established national structures have seldomly been fully abolished, but rather complemented by new, sometimes contradictory, influences. The result is a combination of many ideas, reflected both in the evolution of constitutional structures and in the legal method. The conclusion is that the combination of critical and flexible attitudes towards law will likely keep tempering any effort to institutionalise thorough and enduring doctrinal harmony in the Swedish legal culture.
Axel Jonsson
A View of the Legal Culture of the United States of America
Abstract
This chapter identifies the major landmarks of the legal culture of the United States of America and examines them within two frameworks. The first framework includes institutional structures as manifested in conflict resolution and norm production. The second framework includes intellectual structures as manifested in the ideal of justice, legal method, degree of professionalism, and internationalization.
From the outset, any discussion of the legal culture of the United States presents a problem of perspective. On the one hand, the American system of federalism means that instead of one legal culture, there are at least 51 legal cultures—the culture of the national legal system and the cultures of the legal systems of the 50 states, each of which exercises significant sovereignty. At the same time, however, even as the 51 legal cultures operate separately, they also operate in reference to each other. In that sense, the 51 legal cultures do form a single legal culture. Both perspectives—51 legal cultures and a single legal culture—are accurate. Understanding both perspectives is indispensable for understanding the legal culture of the United States.
Because the major landmarks of American legal culture—federalism, separation of powers, the adversary system, the jury system, and the common law—involve an allocation and distribution of power and authority among multiple norm producers within two structures of sovereignty, the potential for conflict is an inherent part of the legal culture of the United States. Infused with creative tension may be the way to describe the culture evidenced by these landmarks.
Lloyd T. Wilson Jr.
An Introduction to Ukrainian Legal Culture
Abstract
The Ukrainian legal culture demonstrates a clear preference for predictability. With the growing significance of judicial guidance, this preference is receiving some adjustment. The resulting combination of statutory regulation and judicial guidance defines the ultimate shape of the legal method that is practised in Ukraine. Yet, statutory regulation and positive law more generally remain a dominant norm production channel and the core for the existent legal method. Conflict resolution is primarily concentrated in courts of law rather than in extra-judicial bodies. The Supreme Court is at the top of the judiciary system, while the Constitutional Court is a separate body with exclusive competence of authoritative interpretation of the Constitution. Overall, the judiciary is organised based on the principles of specialisation and territoriality. A high level of professionalisation defines legal profession. There are many lawyers of various professions, yet the system experiences a continuous deficit of judges. Internationalisation, or more precisely Europeanisation of the legal culture, has substantially intensified in most recent times.
Yuliya Chernykh
Correction to: An Introduction to Colombian Legal Culture
Catalina Vallejo Piedrahíta, Tania Luna Blanco, Olga Velásquez Ocampo
Metadata
Title
Handbook on Legal Cultures
Editors
Sören Koch
Marius Mikkel Kjølstad
Copyright Year
2023
Electronic ISBN
978-3-031-27745-0
Print ISBN
978-3-031-27744-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27745-0