Introduction to Foreign Legal Systems Sponsored by Edited ...

I n t r o d u c t i o n

t o

F o r e i g n L e g a l S y s t e m s

Sponsored by

T h e A m e r i c a n A s s o c i a t i o n o f L a w L i b r a r i e s

Edited by

Richard A . D a n n e r M a r i e - L o u i s e H. Bernal

O C E A N A P U B L I C A T I O N S , I N C

N e w Y o r k * L o n d o n * R o m e

In troduc t ion to F o r e i g n Legal S y s t e m s

edited by Richard A . D a n n e r

M a r i e - L o u i s e H. Bernal

T a b l e of C o n t e n t s

Acknowledgements xxi

Introduction: Researching Foreign Law

by Richard A. Danner — x x i i i

C o m p a r i n g Legal S y s t e m s

Chapter 1. The Common Law from A Civil Lawyer's Perspective by Phil ippe Bruno — « «— 1

I. Introduct ion 1

II. The Nature of the Systems 2

III The Role of the Lawyer 5

IV. Differences 7

V. Evolution of the Systems 10

VI. Conclusion 12

C h a p t e r 2. Comparative Law: Academic Perspectives and Practical Legal Realities b y Danie l L. W a d e - 15

I. Introduction.... 15

II. Research Guides and Bibliographies 18

III. His tory of the Study of Comparat ive Law 21

Append ix : A Bibliography of Comparative Law 29

I. Research Guides and Bibliographies 29

II. History of the Study of Comparat ive Law 30

i n . Classic Texts 34

IV. Comparat ive Law in the Law School Cur r i cu lum 36

V. Comparat ive Method 39

VI. Contemporary Crit iques 40

VII. Practical Aspects 41

VIII. General Studies 41

C i v i l L a w S y s t e m s

Chapter 3. Introduction to Civil Law Systems by George A. Zaphiriou 47

I. Introduction 47

II. Origins and Geographic Distribution 45

III. Main Characteristics of Civil Law Systems 51

IV. Changing Features 54

V. Conclusion 55

Chapter 4. The French Legal System by Claire M. Germain 57

I. Introduction 57

II. Sources of Law and Authori t ies 57

A. Statutory Law 57

1. Codes 57

2. Other Statutes and New Codes 58

3. Judicial Review and the Role of Conseil Constitutionnel 59

B. Case Law 60

1. Judicial and Administrative Courts and the role of

Conseil d'Etat 60

2. How to Read a French Case 60

C. Legal Scholarship (Doctrine) 61

D. Other Sources of Law 61

E. Respective Role of Statutes and Cases 61

F. Formulation of the Legal Rule 61

G. French Law and European Communi ty L a w 62

H. Organizat ion of the Legal Profession 62

1. Judges 62

2. Lawyers 63

3.Notaires 63 III. Research Methods ...63

A. Research Methodology 63

1. Legal Classifications and Arrangement of the French

Legal System 63

2. How to Find Relevant Subject Headings 65

B. Encyclopedias 66

C. Legal Reviews (Revues juridiques generates) 69

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D. Law Reviews a n d Access to Legal Per iodical Literature 73

E. Books 73

F. H o w to Find Legislation and Cour t Decisions 73

1. Legislation 73

2. Court Decisions 75

3. How to Check for Current Authority 75

IV. Conclusion 76

Append ix : Bibliography 77

I. Guides to Research 77

II. Recent books on the French Legal Sys tem 77

III. Dictionaries of Abbreviations 78

C h a p t e r 5. The Mexican Legal System b y R u b e n s M e d i n a 79

I. Int roduct ion v 79

II. Formally Enacted Laws 81

A . Basic Sources of Law 81

B. Nomenc la tu re and Hierarchy 82

1. Federal Constitution {Constitution Politico) 83

2. Codes (Cddigos), Laws (Leyes), Decrees (Decretos), International Treaties and Agreements 84

3. Regulations (reglamentos), Decrees-Executive (decretos),

Accords (acuerdos) 85

C. Sources of Publication 86

III. Functional Organizat ion of the Judiciary 87

Append ix : Mexican legal Materials: Selected Bibliography of Works

in English b y Norma C. Gut ier rez 90

I. General Works 90

II. Consti tut ion, Codes a n d Statutes (Nat ional) 91

HI. Subjects 92

A. Conflicts of Laws 92

B. Customs and Visas 92

C. Judicial Cooperation 92

D. Trade, Investment, Business and Tax Laws 92

E. Labor Laws 93

F. Intellectual Property 93

G. Maritime Law 94

H. Mining and Petroleum Law 94

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I. International Organizations . 94

A s i a n Legal S y s t e m s

C h a p t e r 6. Introduction to Asian Law Systems b y James V. Feinerman ; 95

I. Intoduct ion 95

n . The "Myth of Asia" and Studying Asian Legal Systems 95

III. M o d e r n L a w a n d Legal Modernizat ion in Asia 97

IV. Law in China 100

A. China 'a Legal Tradition 100

B. Tradit ional Legal Att i tudes 101

C. Twent ie th Century Legal Moderniza t ion 102

D. L a w in the PRC Today 103

1. The Four Modernizations and the Role of Law 104

2. Promulgation of New Legal Codes 104

3. Re-establishment of the Legal Profession 106

4. Growth of Legal Education 107

5. The "Legal Infrastructure" 109

6. Changing Popular Attitudes 113

7. The Explosion of Legal Information 113

V. Law in Japan , 115

A . Japanese Legal History. . 115

B. Meiji Law Reform 115

C. Post-1945 Legal Development 116

D. A Few Important Areas of Contempora ry Law 117

VL Law in Southeast Asia 118

A . P r emode rn L a w and Legal Plural ism 118

B. Colonial Laws 118

C. Southeast Asian Law Today 119

VII. L a w in South Asia 119

A. Four Major Legal Traditions 119

B. Elements of Hindu Law 119

C. Elements of Islamic Law 120

D.Bri t ish Rule 120

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VIII. Conclusion _....121

Chapter 7. The Japanese Legal System by Sung Yoon Cho 123

I. Background 123

II. Constitutions and Statutes 125

A. Constitutions 125

1. The 1947 Constitution „ 125

2. The 1889 Constitution 126

B. Codes 126

1. Criminal Code [Keiho] 126

2. Code of Criminal Procedure [Keiji soshoho] „ 127

3. Civil Code [Minpo] „„.. 127

4. Code of Civil Procedure [Minji Soshoho] 127

5. Commercial Code [Shoho] 128

C. Uncodified Statutes 128

D. Statutory Material Available in Secondary Sources 129

1. Law in General 129

2. Antitrust Law ...... 130

3. Business & Trade Law 130

4. Environmental Law 131

5. Foreign Lawyers 131

6. Intellectual Property Law « 131

7. Labor Law -....132

8. Legal History ....132

9. Securities Law 132

10. Tax Law 133

III. Treaties 133

IV. Judicial Material 134

V. Multinational Sources that Include Japanese Law 134

VI. Research Guide Focusing on Japanese Sources 135

A. H o w to Find Legislation Under Relevant Subject Headings ....135

l.Kanpo 135

2.HoreiZensho 136

3. Roppo Zensho 136

4. Genko Hoki Soran 137

5. E.H.S. Law Bulletin Series 137

B. Law in General 137

C. Encyclopedias a n d Dictionaries 138

D. Law Reviews 139

E. H o w to Find Cases -. -....139

F. H o w to Check for Current Legislation 140

G. Bibliographies and Periodical Indexes 140

Chap te r B. The Chinese Legal System b y Constance A. Johnson 143

I. Background 143

II. Consti tut ions 144

A. Texts 144

B. Secondary Sources 144

III. Statutes 145

A. The First Years of the People's Republic 145

B. More Recent Compilat ions 146

IV. Treatises 146

A. Bibliographies 146

B. Selected Recent Works by Topic 147

1. Civil Law 147

2. Commercial Law 148

3. Criminal Justice 148


5. Human Rights 148

6. Intellectual Property/Technology Transfer 148

7. Labor Law 148

8. Taxation 149

V. Treaties 149

VI. Multinational Sources That Include China 150

VII. Au toma ted Research 151

C h a p t e r 9. The Republic of China (Taiwan) Legal System b y W e n d y I. Ze ld in 153

I. Background 153

II. Consti tut ions and Statutes 155

A. Consti tution 155

B. Codes 157

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C. Statutes 159

D. Treatises and Useful Articles 161

1. Law in General 161

2. Antitrust Law 162

3. Business & Trade Law 162

4. Constitutional Law 162

5. Election Law 163


7. Intellectual Property Law 163

8. Legal History 164

9. Nationality Law , 164

10. Securities Law 164

11. Tax Law 164

III. Treaties 165

IV. Judicial Material 166

V. Mult inat ional Sources that Include ROC Law 166

VI. Au toma ted Research 168

VII. Law Reviews, Periodicals, a n d N e w s p a p e r s in English 169

A. Law Reviews and Periodicals 169

B. N e w s p a p e r s 169

VIII. S o m e ROC Legal. Periodicals in Chinese 169

African Legal S y s t e m s

Chap te r 10. Customary Law and Western Legal Influences in Modern-Day Africa (Case Studies from Ghana and Nigeria) by Victor Ess ien 171

I. In t roduct ion 171

II. Ghana and Nigeria - Shared Legal Tradit ions 172

III. N a t u r e and Classification of African Law 173

A. T h e Na tu re of African Cus tomary Law 173

B. Mus l im Law as a Variation of Cus tomary Law 175

C. T h e Conten t of the Received Law in Ghana a n d Nigeria 176

D. Choice of Law Problem 178

IV. Statutory Law in Ghana and Nigeria 179

V. Case Law and the Court Structure 180

A .Nige r i a 180

B . G h a n a 184

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C. Judicial Precedent in Ghana a n d Nigeria 188

VI. Synopt ic Survey of the Main Branches of the L a w a n d Their Derivation 189

A . Publ ic Law 190

1. Criminal Law 190

2. Evidence Law 191

3. Constitutional and Administrative Law 191

B. Private Law 191

1. Contract Law 191

2. Torts 192

3. Company Law 193

4. Marriage and Family Law 193

5. Land Law 194

6. Legal Profession 194

VII. Conclusion 195

Append ix : Select Bibliography on Ghanaian and Nigerian Law 197

I. Compi la t ion of Statutes and Statutory Materials 197

A. Federal or National 197

B. State or Regional 197

II. Indexes to Statutes and Treaties in Force 197

III. Consti tut ions 198

IV. L a w Reports and Digests 198

A. Official _ 198

1. Federal or National 198

2. Regional 198

3. Multinational 198

B. Unofficial 199

1. Federal or National 199

2. Multinational 199

V. Treatises, Reports, Pamphle ts and Monographs 199

A. General 199

B. Constitutional and Administrative Law 200

C. Criminal Law and Procedure 200

D. Evidence 200

E. Contract, Commercial and Company Law 201

F. Equity and Trusts 201

G. Land Law 202

H. Family Law and Succession 202

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J. Legal profession 202

VI. Bibliographic Works 202

VII. Periodicals 203

Fore ign L a w C o l l e c t i o n - B u i l d i n g

C h a p t e r 11. Building a Medium-to-Large Foreign Law Collection by Danie l L. Wade 205

I. Introduct ion 205

II. K n o w i n g the C o m m u n i t y 208

IE. Sharing Resources 210

IV. Building the Collection 211

A. Selection and Promotion , 211

B. Basic Information 212

C. The Collection Development Policy 213

D. Sources for Acquisitions Information 214

V. Conclusion 218

A p p e n d i x A: Brief Bibliography 220

I. General Works on Collection Development 220

II. Works in Collection Development in Law and ,

Specifically, Foreign and International Law 220

III. Bibliographic Works on Foreign Law 221

A p p e n d i x B: Foreign Law Collections: PCRsand VCRs 223

I. RLG Pr imary Collecting Responsibilities (PCRs) 223 II. Northeast Foreign Law Librarians Cooperat ive G r o u p

Vigorous Collecting Responsibilities (VCRs) 224

A p p e n d i x C: Excerpts From the Draft Collection Development Policy ..227

I. Introduction 227

II. Subject Area Priorities: Collection Level Codes (Legal) 228

III. Foreign, Comparat ive, and International Law 229

A. Foreign Law 229

1. Foreign Collection Development Priorities 230

2. Primary Sources 230

3. Serials 230

4. Civil Law Treatises. (Legal Subject Areas.) 230

IX

5. Cooperative Collection Development Efforts 233

6. Blanket Orders 234

7. Africa 234

8. Microforms and Audiovisual Materials 234

9. Automated Systems 234

IV. Compara t ive Law 234

V. International Law 235

A. Primary Sources 235

B. Treatises 236

C. Serials 236

D. International Organization Documentation 237

E. Microforms and Audiovisual Materials 237

F. Automated Systems 238

VI. Reference Collection 238

C h a p t e r 12- Acquiring Foreign Legal Materials: Focus on Europe by Margaieta Horiba 239


II. Wes te rn Europe 240

III. Intensity of Acquisitions 240

IV. W h e n to Use a Vendor 241

V. Different Types of Publications 243

A. Monographs ....243

B. Serials 244

C. Dissertations 244

D. Official Publications 246

VI. The European Communi ty and Internat ional Organizat ions 246

VII. Verification of Titles 247

VIII. Billing and Shipping 248

IX. Communica t ions 248

A p p e n d i x A: Bibliography 250

I. Acquisi t ions Practices 250

II. Terminology 250

III. Publishers and Vendors 251

A p p e n d i x B: Vendor Addresses 253

I. N o r t h American Vendors 253

II. European Vendors 253

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III. Document a n d Information Services 254

Chap te r 13. Acquiring Material from Difficult Jurisdictions: Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union b y Nicholas Thorner.... - 257


II. Structural Changes in Publication and Distr ibution 258

III. Legal Publications a n d Documents 260

IV. Conclusion „....265

C h a p t e r 14. Foreign Law in Translation: Problems and Sources by Amber Lee S m i t h 267

Append ix : Sources of English Language Translations

of Foreign Laws 272

I. Introduct ion 272

II. Genera l Reference 272

A. Bibliographies 272

B. Encyclopedias, Looseleaf Services, a n d O t h e r General Sources 273

C. Periodicals 275

in . Africa 276

A.Alger ia 276

B .Egyp t 277

C.Eth iop ia 277

D. Ivory Coast 277

E. Libya 277

F .Morocco 278

G . M o z a m b i q u e 278

H .Senega l 278

I. S u d a n 278

J. Togo 279

K.Tunis ia 279

IV. Asia 279

A . C h i n a 279

B. People 's Republic of China 279

C .Repub l i c of Ch ina /Ta iwan 282

D. Indones ia 283

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E. Japan - 284

F .Korea (South) 288

G.Mongol ia 288

H . Nepal 289

L Thailand ~ 289

V. Europe 290

A. Albania 292

B.Aust r ia 292

C.Belg ium ....293

D.Bulgar ia -....293

E.Czechoslovakia 294

F . D e n m a r k 294

G.Fin land 295

H . F r a n c e 295

I. Germany 297

J .Greece 302

K . H u n g a r y 302

L. Italy 304

M. Malta 305

N . M o n a c o 305

O. The Nether lands 305

P . N o r w a y 307

Q . P o l a n d 308

R.Por tuga l 308

S .Romania 309

T. Russian Federat ion 309

U .Spa in „....309

V. Sweden 311

W.Swi tze r land 312

X. Turkey 314

VI. Latin America 315

A.Argen t ina ; 315

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C . Brazil 315

D .Ch i l e 316

E .Colombia 316

F. Dominican Republic 317

G . H o n d u r a s 317

H . Mexico 317

I. Nicaragua 318

J . P a n a m a 319

K . U r u g u a y 320

L .Venezue la 320

VII. M i d d l e East 321

A .Bah ra in 322

B. I ran 322

C . I r a q 322

D. Israel 322

E . Jo rdan 324

F. Kuwai t 324

G. Saudi Arabia 324

H. Syria 325

I. Uni ted Arab Emirates 325

J. Yemen 326

T r a n s f o r m i n g Fore ign L a w R e s e a r c h

C h a p t e r 15. Beyond Books and Libraries: Providing Foreign, Comparative and International Legal Information in the 1990s and Beyond b y M . Ka th leen Price , 327

I. Int roduct ion 327

II. The Increasing Need to Share Legal Information 328

III. Changes in Technology Facilitate Global Coopera t ion 330

IV. F rom Traditional Library to Legal Research Institute 331

V. Othe r Models 334

VI. T h e Future: A Global Legal Information N e t w o r k 334

VII. The H u m a n Network Comes Full Circle 336

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VIH.ConcIusion: A Call to Action 337

C h a p t e r 16. International Legal Information Network (ILIN) by R u b e n s M e d i n a 339

I. Background 339

II. T h e Project 340

A. The Time Factor 340

B. Full Legal Texts 341

C. Expansion of Scope 341

D. Location of Work Stations 341

E. Language Format 342

III. S u m m a r y 343

IV. Cur ren t Status 344

C h a p t e r 17. Library of Congress Class Kfor Law b y Jo l ande E. G o l d b e r g 347

I. Funct ions of Classification in a Library 347

II. Concep t s a n d Policies Governing LC's Foreign Law Classification 350

III. Structure of LC's Regional Law Classification Schedules 353

A. The Regions and Jurisdictions 353

B. Subject Tables and Form Divisions 355

C Synchronized Civil and Common Law Tables 356

IV. Conclusion 356

C h a p t e r 18. LC Classification in the USMARC Format b y Rebecca S. G u e n t h e r 359

I. Int roduct ion 359

II. The USMARC Formats 359

III. T h e USMARC Format for Classification Data 360

IV. USES for USMARC Classification 361

A . For Technical Users 361

B. For Researchers 362

V. USMARC Classification Format Overv iew 363

A. Required Classification Fields 363

B. USMARC Classification Format Field Blocks 364

VI. USMARC Classification Format Development 364

VII. Library of Congress USMARC Classification Experiment 365

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Chap te r 20

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C . E l e

D . L a i

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II. N a m Law

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C h a p t e r 21

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IX. Conversion Efforts for LC Classification 366

X. Demonstra t ion of Onl ine KJE Schedule „ 367

XL Conclusion 368

Chapter 19. The Library of Congress Legal Bibliographic Database on CD-ROM b y El izabeth A. Leahy 371

I. Introduction 371

II. Developing a Legal Bibliographic Database on CD-ROM 372

III. Research Applications 373

A. Searching LC Classification 373

B. Searching b y Coun t ry and Language 373

C. Other Search Fields 374

D. Crea t ing Bibliographies 375

IV. Library Applications 375

A . Collection Development Applications 375

B. Technical Services Applications 376

V. What ' s Next 376

R e s o u r c e s for F o r e i g n L a w R e s e a r c h e r s

Chap te r 20. Sources of Assistance 379

I. Foreign and International Law Librarians Will ing to H e l p Non-Experts 379

A. Jurisdictional Expertise 379

B. Subject Expertise 383

C. Electronic Foreign or International Law Resources 386

D. Languages 390

E. Interests (No Expertise Claimed) 392

II. N a m e s and Addresses of Foreign and Internat ional Law Librarians 393

III. INT-Law 405

Chapter 21. AALL Programs, Workshops and Institutes on Foreign, Comparative, and International Law 1982-1992 407

xv