The University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law LL.M. in Comparative Law Program Fall 2019 Professor Pedro A. Malavet Introduction to the Comparative Method (Comparative History and Philosophy of the Common and Civil Law Traditions) Edited Reading Materials for the Course (This handout includes the supplementary text that I will use this fall; our other materials will come from the Burnham text). Handout No. 1 COMPARATIVE LAW: PROF. MALAVET ii Editorial Note This set of materials is a collection of texts that I have put together for the first time during the Spring of 2006 as experimental teaching materials for my Comparative Law course at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. The texts are other peoples’ work —except for some of my own essays and articles and a few questions and explanatory notes that I have inserted into some of the chosen materials. I have identified the original source at the start of each section. I have strived to keep the materials as close to their original form as possible, and have expressly indicated any major changes that I have made in the introductory note. The most common edition is the elimination of footnotes, those that remain are usually renumbered. —Pedro A. Malavet Professor of Law July 2018 COMPARATIVE LAW: PROF. MALAVET iii Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 COMPARATIVE LAW AS LOOKING GLASS: WHAT FOREIGN LEGAL SYSTEMS CAN TEACH US ABOUT OURS.................................................................................................................................1 A. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................1 B. COMPARATIVE LAW COVERAGE AND PEDAGOGY ....................................................................5 1. Comparative Law: Objectives, Definitions and Methods ...................................................5 2. The Special Hazards of Comparative Law .........................................................................7 3. The Comparative Method in United States Cases ..............................................................8 4. Legal Education in the Civil Law World ............................................................................9 5. Legal Professionalism in the Civil Law World ................................................................. 11 6. The Magical History Tour ................................................................................................ 16 7. Contemporary National Legal Systems ............................................................................ 20 8. Constitutionality Review: Case Studies ............................................................................ 22 C. PEDAGOGICAL ASSESSMENT: AN EXAM QUESTION ............................................................... 23 D. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 2 THE COMPARATIVE METHOD IN UNITED STATES COURTS ........................................................................................................................ 31 A. THE PLAZO DECENAL ............................................................................................................ 31 1. In re San Juan Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire Litigation ......................................................... 31 B. TREATY OBLIGATIONS TO USE THE COMPARATIVE METHOD ................................................. 48 1. EASTERN AIRLINES, INC. v. FLOYD et al., No. 89-1598 .............................................. 48 C. LITIGATING CASES WITH FOREIGN PARTIES OR FOREIGN LAW ISSUES IN AMERICAN COURTS ............................................................... 62 1. NOTE ON TRANSNATIONAL LITIGATION ................................................................... 62 2. PLEADING OR JUDICIAL NOTICE: APPROACHES TO RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN LAW ISSUES ..................................................................... 64 3. 1. The Fact Approach in Practice .................................................................................... 65 4. GRIFFIN v. MARK TRAVEL CORP. Wisconsin Court of Appeals 724 N.W.2d 900 (2006) .......................................................................................... 65 5. 2. Treating Foreign Law as "Law" ................................................................................... 70 6. 3. Failure to Plead or Prove Foreign Law ....................................................................... 76 CHAPTER 3 COMPARATIVE LAW: DEFINITION, OBJECTIVES AND METHODS ................................................................................................. 78 A. INTRODUCTORY NOTE ........................................................................................................... 78 B. DEFINITION ............................................................................................................................ 79 COMPARATIVE LAW: PROF. MALAVET iv C. ORIGINS AND OBJECTIVES ..................................................................................................... 81 1. Origins Of Comparative Law ........................................................................................... 81 2. Objectives Of Comparative Law ...................................................................................... 82 3. Because it is Entertaining?............................................................................................... 87 4. Notes And Questions ........................................................................................................ 88 D. COMPARATIVE LAW METHODS .............................................................................................. 92 1. Scientific Explanation In Comparative Law ..................................................................... 92 2. Functionalism In Comparative Law ................................................................................. 94 3. The Laboratories Of Comparative Analysis ..................................................................... 95 4. Legal Transplants ............................................................................................................. 97 5. Note On Law And Development ....................................................................................... 98 6. [Political/Ideological Comparative Law?] ...................................................................... 99 7. Notes And Questions ...................................................................................................... 102 CHAPTER 4 THE SPECIAL HAZARDS OF COMPARATIVE LAW ............................................................................................................................................. 104 A. INTRODUCTORY NOTE ......................................................................................................... 104 B. SCOPE: LAW AS LEGAL SYSTEMS ........................................................................................ 105 1. Note On “Law” As Legal Rules And As Legal Systems ................................................. 105 2. Example: The Comparison Of Japanese Law ................................................................ 108 C. LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES .................................................................................................... 111 1. The Language Problems ................................................................................................. 111 2. Notes on Language ......................................................................................................... 113 3. Differences In Classification .......................................................................................... 116 4. The Term “Notary” ........................................................................................................ 116 D. NOTE ON THE SUBJECT OF “CORRUPTION” ......................................................................... 118 E. LAW IN ACTION ................................................................................................................... 122 1. In general ....................................................................................................................... 122 2. The Reasons for Studying Law In Action ....................................................................... 124 CHAPTER 5 LEGAL EDUCATION IN THE CIVIL LAW WORLD ....................................................................................................................................... 129 A. INTRODUCTORY NOTE ......................................................................................................... 129 B. LEGAL EDUCATION THERE AND HERE ................................................................................. 131 1. Higher Education: Three Fundamental Differences ...................................................... 131 2. The Goals of Legal Education ........................................................................................ 133 3. Professors ....................................................................................................................... 133 4. Curricula and Teaching Methods ................................................................................... 135 5. Students .......................................................................................................................... 136 6. NOTES AND QUESTIONS ...........................................................................................