This collection of essays considers the work of Professor Sir Thomas Smith QC (1915-1988) and, through that work, the development of Scots law as a mixed legal system. Smith was a leading figure in the revival of Scots law which began in the 1950s. Well-known internationally as a comparatist, he was the pioneer of the idea of a grouping of mixed legal systems. Yet in Scotland he was a controversial figure, whose advocacy of the civil law tradition was challenged and whose legacy is disputed. This volume is the first sustained attempt to assess Smith's career, and his writing, methodology,...

This volume sets out initially to test the claim that, as combinations of Civil and Common Law influences, the mixed systems of contract law in Scotland and South Africa have anticipated the content of the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) concluded and published in 2003 by the unofficial Commission on European Contract Law. The studies go much further, however. Current official moves towards a European contract law within the European Union lend the critiques of PECL offered in this volume an especial urgency and significance. A European contract law is nearer to reality than ever...

W M Gordon, who retired from the Douglas Chair of Civil Law at the University of Glasgow in 1999, is well known for his distinguished contribution to Roman law, legal history and land law. He is the author of several books in these subject areas, but it is a mark of his international eminence that much of his prolific output has been published in a wide variety of journals and essay collections outside, as well as within, the UK. This important collection draws together in an accessible format much of his most important writing and, as such, will be in indispensable purchase for all those...

This book is an important contribution to the current lively debate about the relationship between law and society in the Roman world. This debate, which was initiated by the work of John Crook in the 1960's, has had a profound impact upon the study of law and history and has created sharply divided opinions on the extent to which law may be said to be a product of the society that created it. This work is a modest attempt to provide a balanced assessment of the various points of view. The chapters within this book have been specifically arranged to represent the debate. It contains an...

By comparison with other areas of private law, the law of succession has been neglected by modern scholars. This volume contributes to its rehabilitation by examining key issues in succession law from a variety of perspectives: national, historical and comparative. In particular it seeks to extend the techniques of legal comparison into an area of law where hitherto they have been little used.
The jurisdictions most prominently featured are the mixed jurisdictions of Scotland and South Africa, but there are frequent comparative references, and special attention is given to the Netherlands...

Returning to a theme featured in some of the earlier volumes in the Edinburgh Studies in Law series, this volume offers an in-depth study of 'mixed jurisdictions' - legal systems which combine elements of the Anglo-American Common Law and the European Civil Law traditions. This new collection of essays compares key areas of private law in Scotland and Louisiana. In thirteen chapters, written by distinguished scholars on both sides of the Atlantic, it explores not only legal rules but also the reasons for the rules, discussing legal history, social and cultural factors, and the law in...

This book discusses in detail how medieval scholars reacted to the casuistic discussions in the inherited Roman texts, particularly the Digest of Justinian. It shows how they developed medieval Roman law into a system of rules that formed a universal common law for Western Europe. Because there has been little research published in English beyond grand narratives on the history of law in Europe, this book fills an important gap in the literature.With a focus on how the medieval Roman lawyers systematised the Roman sources through detailed discussions of specific areas of law.