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Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring
Comparative Law: A Very Short Introduction aims to offer a concise introduction to Comparative Law-its objectives, methods, concepts and uses. After an overview of the fundamental definitions, key concepts and basic lexicon of the discipline, the book proposes an analysis of the most successful techniques adopted in legal comparison for mapping the world's legal systems and for explaining legal change and diffusion of law, also giving a concise description of the legal traditions of the world.
It also offers an account of the competing approaches adopted over time in comparative endeavours, from functionalism to culturalism and postmodernism, and highlights the different emphasis placed by each of these approaches on commonalities, faith in universal law and convergence, or on divergence and irreducible differences. Finally, the book provides readers with an understanding of the practical use of comparative law, describing how legal comparison is employed both in law-making and in adjudication, supplementing legal reasoning and interpretation.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
List of contents
- 1: What is comparative law?
- 2: Classifying legal systems
- 3: Legal traditions
- 4: Methods and approaches
- 5: Sameness and difference
- 6: What for? The uses of comparative law
- Bibliography
About the author
Sabrina Ragone is a Professor of Comparative Law of the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Bologna, which she holds the post of Head of International Relations. She is also Senior Research Affiliate of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (Heidelberg), where she pursued her research between 2015 and 2017. Previously, she was García Pelayo Fellow at the Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales - Madrid (2012-2015) and researcher at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (2011-2012). She has held visiting positions in the USA (Boston College, Michigan Law School, Texas A&M), Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Germany, and France. She specialises in comparative methodology, constitutional adjudication, European, and Latin American constitutionalism.
Guido Smorto is a Full Professor of Comparative Private Law at University of Palermo, where he holds the EU Jean Monnet Chair in Comparative and European Digital Law. He has held research and visiting professor positions in several academic institutions in Europe, as well as in the US, Japan, and Latin America, and has written and edited articles and books in Italian, English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Catalan. He gives talks and lectures in Italy and abroad. Smorto specialises in private comparative law. His latest scholarly works focus mainly on comparative and European digital law. He is also Vice President of Società Italiana per la Ricerca nel Diritto Comparato (SIRD).
Summary
Sabrina Ragone and Guido Smorto provide a concise introduction to the field of comparative law, explaining how it is used by legislators, judges, international organizations and scholars, and demonstrating that legal comparison challenges conventional beliefs and unquestioned assumptions about law and society.
Additional text
This slim volume by two Italian professors of comparative law is to be commended for what it distils into 130 very readable pages. The concise, clear prose provides room for practical examples.
