European Law in the Past and Future

R. C. Van Caenegem considers the historical reasons behind European legal diversity, stressing the adoption of the classical law of the Romans, the influence of the rise of the nation states, and the impact of politics on legal development. He concludes with a consideration of the desirability of European legal unification. As Europe moves towards economic and political unification, many wonder why legal unification makes so little headway. In this concise but wide-ranging book, R. C. van Caenegem considers the historical reasons behind this legal diversity. He stresses the importance of the adoption on the Continent - but not in England - of the classical law of the Romans, and shows how the rise of the nation states led to a multitude of national codes of law. The impact of politics on legal development is another key factor, and as a graphic example van Caenegem provides a detailed account of how the German past was extolled in Nazi Germany. The book concludes with a consideration of the ongoing debate on the desirability - indeed, on the possibility - of European legal unification and of a federal constitution for a united Europe.