A significant introduction to the study of comparative law and a notable scholarly work, Major Legal Systems in the World Today analyzes the general characteristics which lie behind the development of the four principal legal systems of the world: the Civil law, the Common law, the Socialist law (primarily Soviet), and those based on religious or philosophical principles (Muslim, Hindu, Chinese, Japanese, and African). Providing unique insights into the spirt of each legal family, the book presents a total view of the historical foundation and the sources and structure of the law in each system.

An Introduction to Collier Macmillan the comparative study of law.

Provides a key textbook on the nature of international and transnational crimes and the delivery of justice for crime control and prevention.

Now in its second edition, this textbook presents a critical rethinking of the study of comparative law and legal theory in a globalising world, and proposes an alternative model. It highlights the inadequacies of current Western theoretical approaches in comparative law, international law, legal theory and jurisprudence, especially for studying Asian and African laws, arguing that they are too parochial and eurocentric to meet global challenges. Menski argues for combining modern natural law theories with positivist and socio-legal traditions, building an interactive, triangular concept of legal pluralism. Advocated as the fourth major approach to legal theory, this model is applied in analysing the historical and conceptual development of Hindu law, Muslim law, African laws and Chinese law.

Providing a comprehensive and comparative analysis of the legal approach to key areas of law within different legal systems, this book offers a blueprint for comparative legal study by evaluating the current epistemological debate on comparative law and comparative legal research methods. Substantive law, the law of obligations, commercial and corporate law within the major legal systems of the world are all examined and compared. While France and Germany are generally used as the archetypal civil law jurisdictions and English law as the main common law comparator, this third edition also examines the Russian Federation in the post-Soviet era and socialist legal influences as well as non-Western legal traditions. Fully updated and revised to include all recent developments, this edition also includes a broad historical introduction and outlines changes in EC Law. It assesses the possibility of Europeanization of national legal systems and certain legal topics, the impact of the globalization of legal institutions and the evolving 'new world order' in the early twenty-first century. Written in a clear, user-friendly style, Comparative Law in a Changing World is an accessible source for undergraduates and postgraduates wishing to trace the influence of common law and civil law legal traditions on jurisdictions across the world.