European Legal Methodology 2nd Edition

"EU law is an autonomous legal system. It requires its own methodology. The contributions to this volume provide elements of a genuinely European legal method. They discuss the foundations of European legal methodology in Roman law and in the development of national legal methods in the 19th century as well as the economic and comparative background. Core issues of legal methods such as the sources of law, the interpretation of EU primary law and secondary legislation, the concretisation of general clauses, and judicial development of the law are also analysed. The temporal effects of EU directives on the one hand and of judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the other raise specific issues of EU law. Contributions are also devoted to issues of a multi-level legal system. Beyond general aspects, directives, in particular, raise special questions: what is their impact on the interpretation of national law; and what are the methodological consequences of a transposition of directives beyond their original scope ('gold-plating')? Further contributions inquire into methodological issues in contract law, employment law, company law, capital market law and competition law. They illustrate the general aspects of European legal methods with a view to specific applications and also reveal specific issues of methods which occur in these areas. Finally, legal methods from national perspectives of different Member States, namely France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, are examined. The authors reveal national traditions of legal methods and national preconceptions and illustrate the application of EU legal methods in different national contexts."--Back cover.

This book brings together essays by leading legal scholars from a number of European countries on European legal method(s). In Europe there is, and has for some years been, a seemingly renewed debate on methodology in legal research. In the first years of its existence EU law was generally perceived as rather superficial, immature and fragmentary with many gaps and inconsistencies. Now, EU law is ripening and the mutual embeddedness of EU law and the national law of its Member States is becoming more intense. It is therefore both more possible and more necessary to identify and explain the legal method that is applied by European legal actors, in particular legal scholars and courts, when analysing EU law and the law of EU Member States within the scope of application of EU law. This book is the second publication within the European Legal Methods research project and is the result of a conference held in November 2011. Most of the contributors are all legal scholars concerned within d

In Europe there is, and has been for some years, a seemingly renewed debate on methodology in legal research. In the first years of its existence, EU law was generally perceived as rather superficial, immature, and fragmentary, with many gaps and inconsistencies. Now, EU law is ripening and the mutual embeddedness of EU law and the national law of its Member States is becoming more intense. It is therefore both more possible, and more necessary, to identify and explain the legal method that is applied by European legal actors, in particular legal scholars and courts, when analyzing EU law and the law of Member States within the scope of EU legal application. This book brings together essays by leading legal scholars from a number of European countries regarding European legal method(s). It is the second publication within the European Legal Methods research project and is the result of a conference held in November 2011. The contributors are all focused on different legal disciplines and represent different legal cultures and research styles, partly related to different geographical backgrounds.

Making a key contribution to the contemporary debate about methods in European legal research, this comprehensive book looks behind different methodologies to explore the institutional, disciplinary, and political conflicts that shape questions of 'method' or 'approach' in European legal scholarship. Offering a new perspective on the underlying politics of method, it identifies four core dimensions of methodological struggle in legal research - the politics of questions, the politics of answers, the politics of legal audiences, and the politics of the concept of law. Chapters explore how methodological choices impact the questions legal scholars ask, the answers they seek, the audiences for and to whom they speak, and ultimately their understanding of the legal and the social world. Leading contributors uncover the framing discourses, institutional inertias, and political pressures that shape research questions, while assessing the effects of importing social science methods into legal research, and how audiences of legal research and education shape our understanding of law. Concluding with a reflection on the continued, if qualified, relevance of formal doctrinal methods for European legal research, this thought-provoking book will be a key resource for students and scholars of law and politics, research methods and European law.

This book examines the extent to which it is possible to identify a coherent legal method (a doctrine of the sources of law and their interpretation) that may be applied when analyzing EU law and the law of EU Member States. European Legal Method: Paradoxes and Revitalisation looks at what characterizes the sources of law and the interpretation methods that are actually used by European legal actors, especially judges and researchers. It examines the changes in the relative importance of various sources of law that occur in connection with the integration of EU law into national law.

Lawyers engaged in European/US transborder transactions need to know how to find, understand, and compare applicable foreign and international laws. Breaking the oceanic divide, this book is the first legal research guide to consider internationalization and globalization in both the new law school curriculums and the changing practice of law. The book is a significant expansion and revision of the second edition of Legal Research Methods in the US and Europe. With the inclusion of material on China, Russia, and England - and on researching foreign law in general - the book now reflects a broader scope. Regarding US legal research, this edition explains the impacts and effects of major changes and developments that have occurred very recently, including the introduction of Bloomberg Law, WestlawNext, and the revolutionary Law.gov movement.

Written to provide an integrated teaching tool for courses in legal method, this book encourages debate and critical thinking in new students. It covers the "how to" of language skills, study skills, argument skills and legal knowledge.

This book discusses the opportunities and challenges facing legal education in the era of globalization. It identifies the knowledge and skills that law students will require in order to prepare for the practice of tomorrow, and explores pedagogical shifts legal education needs to make inside and outside of the classroom. With contributions from leading experts on legal education from various jurisdictions across the globe, the work combines theoretical depth with practical insights. Seeking to understand the changing landscape of legal education in the era of globalization, the contributions find that law schools can, and must, adopt educational strategies that at least present students with different understandings of what studying and practicing law is meant to be about. They find that law schools need to offer their students choices, a vision of practice that is not driven entirely by the demands of the marketplace or the needs of major international law firms. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, this book makes a significant contribution to the impact of globalization on legal education, and how students and law schools need to adapt for the future. It will be of great interest to academics and students of comparative legal studies and legal education, as well as policy-makers and practitioners.