A Study of Mixed Legal Systems ― Endangered, Entrenched or Blended

A Study of Mixed Legal Systems: Endangered, Entrenched, or Blended takes the reader on a fascinating voyage of discovery. It includes case studies of a number of systems from across the globe: Cyprus, Guyana, Jersey, Mauritius, Philippines, Quebec, St Lucia, Scotland, and Seychelles. Each combines its legal legacies in novel ways. Large and small, in Europe and beyond, some are sovereign, some part of larger political units. Some are monolingual, some bilingual, some multilingual. Along with an analytical introduction and conclusion, the chapters explore the manner in which the elements of these mixed systems may be seen to be a€?entrencheda€?, a€?endangereda€?, or a€?blendeda€?. It explores how this process of legal change happens, questions whether some systems are at greater risk than others, and details the strategies that have been adopted to accelerate or counteract change. The studies involve consideration of the colourful histories of the jurisdictions, of their complex relationships to parent legal systems and traditions, and of language, legal education and legal actors. The volume also considers whether the experiences of these systems can tell us something about legal mixtures and movements generally. Indeed, the volume will be helpful both for scholars and students with a special interest in mixed legal systems as well as anyone interested in comparative law and legal history, in the diversity and dynamism of law.

Sue Farran is a Professor of Laws at Northumbria University, UK, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of the South Pacific. She has a long-standing interest in comparative law and legal pluralism, and much of her published research uses case studies from the island countries of the South Pacific region to focus on issues of human rights, legal pluralism, the challenges of development and sustainability, globalisation and legal colonialism. In particular she is interested in the interface between legal systems and normative frameworks within states and between states, and the relationship between national, regional and international players in shaping and developing legal responses to contemporary issues. Professor Emerita Dr Esin A–rA?cA? has been Professor Emerita of Comparative Law, University of Glasgow, since 2005 and Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Glasgow since 2008. Esin is also Professor Emeritus of Comparative Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Visiting Professor of Turkish Family Law, Amsterdam Free University, and Visiting Professor of Comparative Law, Okan University, Istanbul Dr.h.c. (Uppsala). She is a titular member of the International Academy of Comparative law and a member of the World Society of Mixed Jurisdiction Jurists from its inception. Esina€?s research interests include: Comparative Law methodology; Transmigration of Laws; Changing Paradigms in the New World Order; Mixed Jurisdictions; Systems in Transition, Legal Systems and Legal Cultures and Convergence and divergence between legal systems and cultures; Problems of the recipient systems in legal export/import, transpositions; Core of Rights; Comparative Jurisprudence; Turkish Law, culture and language. Esin has published widely on comparative law and mixed legal systems. Dr SeA!n Patrick Donlan holds a JD (Louisiana) and a PhD (Trinity College Dublin). A native of Louisiana, he teaches at the University of Limerick, Ireland. His research interests include comparative legal history, mixed legal systems and legal pluralism, micro-jurisdictions, legal philosophy, and legal education. Dr Donlan is President of Juris Diversitas, General Secretary of the World Society of Mixed Jurisdiction Jurists, Editor of Comparative Legal History, and a member of the International Academy of Comparative Law. With Dr Lukas Heckendorn Urscheler (Swiss Institute of Comparative Law), he recently co-edited Concepts of law: comparative, jurisprudential, and social science perspectives (Ashgate, 2014) for the Juris Diversitas Series.