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The Dutch Common Law Tradition, Some remarks on Dutch Private Law and the Ius Commune
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Brandsma, Freerk Erp, J. Van Vliet, L. M. Van |
| Copyright Year | 2006 |
| Abstract | Tradition, like possession, is nine-tenths of the law. Law must be based on tradition; otherwise it is not law. Law that is changing every day is arbitrary. Certainty and predictability are important aspects of law. I could go on and on giving you truths like this, but I trust you will not need this kind of persuasion. The invitation to contribute to the XVII International Congress of Comparative Law on the topic of ‘National Legal Traditions and Historical Backgrounds’ was for me a very welcome one. For it would provide me with the opportunity to state that there is no independent Dutch Legal Tradition as far as private law is concerned, but there is a common Dutch tradition, which in turn is part of larger European common legal tradition. Before enlarging upon this theme I have to confess myself to a few limitations which I have taken the liberty to bring to the subject. I will be writing only about private law, because that is the only field of law I pretend to know anything about. But I will be doing so the more gladly, because private law is the only field of law with a common tradition on the continent of Europe – or just Europe as the British would say – that goes back beyond a couple of centuries. This last remark already gives a clue to my thesis of the last but one paragraph. A common tradition there was and is for Dutch private law, but one could hardly call it national. Perhaps one could call it a common national tradition. What do I mean with all this juggling with adjectives and abstract mumbo jumbo? A short survey of Dutch legal history will perhaps be helpful. |
| Starting Page | 1 |
| Ending Page | 15 |
| Page Count | 15 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://www.ejcl.org/111/art111-5.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
