Applying the Law in the National, International and European Context: The Comparison Step

Abstract

The application of the law, in the variety of global legal situations, has its own dynamism. It cannot result from the mere application of a method or a legal solution at a given moment, in a predetermined space and on a predetermined level, by a duly identified actor. It must be grasped in one movement. In a single situation, several laws must sometimes be mobilised, alternatively, cumulatively, at the same time or at different moments, in one or several spaces or on one or several levels, by one or by multiple actors. This distinctive dynamic, which the lawyer must be conscious of when passing from one context – national, international or European – to another, has an influence over the law, its uses and, sometimes, its content.

Following on the general introduction to this approach, available here: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2293290, the present paper, introduces the first step (out of the three steps that are comprised in the suggested approach), i.e. how, in order to solve cases lawyers should, compare methods and solutions specific to national, international and European law.

Keywords: legal culture, comparative law, pluralism, globalisation, legal methodology