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Full-Text Articles in Law
Contesting Property Rights: Towards An Integrated Theory Of Institutional And System Change, Katharina Pistor
Contesting Property Rights: Towards An Integrated Theory Of Institutional And System Change, Katharina Pistor
Faculty Scholarship
It is widely recognized that institutions are embedded in social systems and that institutions as well as social systems change over time. Several implications follow: First, institutions cannot be described and analyzed without referring to the system in which they operate; conversely, a system cannot be described without reference to its core institutions. Second, systems foster institutional change and can breed new institutions. Third, institutional change can have systemic implications and may even engender the formation of new systems. In short, the relation between institutions and systems is characterized by complex interactions. A better understanding of the dynamics of institutional …
The Law And The Non-Law, Katharina Pistor
The Law And The Non-Law, Katharina Pistor
Faculty Scholarship
The common theme of the articles assembled for this issue is a focus on Asian societies and their struggle with the conceptualization of "non-law" and its relation to law. This brief Comment reflects on the construction of the "non-law" as analytical categories in the four contributions. It suggests that the struggle with "non-law" reflects a deeper confusion about the role of law in ordering social relations broadly defined.' Focusing on the "non-law" assumes implicitly that "law" is a useful and well-delineated category for analyzing governance structures within and across states and thus can serve as a benchmark for analyzing "non-law." …
Patterns Of Legal Change: Shareholder And Creditor Rights In Transition Economies, Katharina Pistor
Patterns Of Legal Change: Shareholder And Creditor Rights In Transition Economies, Katharina Pistor
Faculty Scholarship
This paper analyses changes in the legal protection of shareholder and creditor rights in 24 transition economies from 1990 to 1998. It documents differences in the initial conditions and a tendency towards convergence of formal legal rules as the result of extensive legal reforms. Convergence seems to be primarily the result of foreign technical assistance programs as well as of harmonisation requirements for countries wishing to join the European Union. The external supply of legal rules not withstanding, the pattern of legal reforms suggests that law reform has been primarily responsive, or lagging, rather than leading economic development. In comparison, …
The Constitution's Accommodation Of Social Change, Philip A. Hamburger
The Constitution's Accommodation Of Social Change, Philip A. Hamburger
Faculty Scholarship
Did the framers and ratifiers of the United States Constitution think that changes in American society would require changes in the text or interpretation of the Constitution? If those who created the Constitution understood or even anticipated the possibility of major social alterations, how did they expect constitutional law – text and interpretation – to accommodate such developments?