International Law Commons^™

Thinking Like A Lawyer Abroad: Putting Justice Into Legal Reasoning, James Maxeiner

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Americans are taking new interest in legal reasoning. Thinking Like a Lawyer: A New Introduction to Legal Reasoning by Professor Frederick Schauer suggests why. According to Schauer, American legal methods often require decision-makers “to do something other than the right thing.” There has got to be a better way.

Now comes a book that offers Americans opportunities to look into a world where legal methods help decision-makers do the right thing. According to Reinhard Zippelius in his newly published Introduction to German Legal Methods, German legal methods help decision makers resolve legal problems “in a just and equitable manner.”

This …

Civilizing American Civil Justice: International Insights, James Maxeiner, Gyooho Lee, Armin Weber

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In 1776, when Americans declared independence from Britain, they also declared their rights. Their declarations of rights count “open courts” as among the best means for constitutional development. Open courts should secure to every man, without regard to wealth, a just remedy for every wrong suffered, according to the law of the land, by fair and speedy procedure.

Since 1776 Americans have invested heavily in creating open courts. They have been disappointed by returns that fall “far short of perfection” (Maurice Rosenberg). They have found reform to be an “unending effort to perfect the imperfect” (Jay Tidmarsh).

That Americans have …

Some Realism About Legal Certainty In The Globalization Of The Rule Of Law, James Maxeiner

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The rule of law is at the heart of globalization. It promises both international and domestic routes to peace, security, democracy, human rights and sustainable development worldwide. A central tenet of the rule of law is legal certainty. For most modern jurists, it is a matter of course that legal certainty is a systemic goal, even if that goal is not always fully realized. But for American jurists who count themselves legal realists, legal certainty is not even a flawed goal; it is a childish myth. This address seeks to raise awareness of this fundamental difference and to show its …

Legal Methods As A Point Of Reference For Comparative Studies Of Procedural Law, James Maxeiner

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This paper addresses the importance of comparative legal methods for study of comparative procedure.

Legal Certainty And Legal Methods: A European Alternative To American Legal Indeterminacy?, James Maxeiner

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Americans are resigned to a high level of legal indeterminacy. This Article shows that Europeans do not accept legal indeterminacy and instead have made legal certainty a general principle of their law. This Article uses the example of the German legal system to show how German legal methods strive to realize this general European principle. It suggests that these methods are opportunities for Americans to develop their own system to reduce legal indeterminacy and to increase legal certainty.

U.S. “Methods Awareness” (Methodenbewußtsein) For German Jurists, James Maxeiner

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The purpose of this contribution is to help develop Methods Awareness in German jurists unfamiliar with American law. It shows how distant from German understanding present-day American practice is. It proceeds from Fikentscher's thumbnail sketch of German Prevailing Teaching: "this method starts from norm-thinking, therefore thinks in rules, that are applied to the case at hand." It refers to the core elements of this teaching, namely the place of the legal norm (Rechtssatz) in the legal order (Rechtsordnung) and its application to a particular set of facts (i.e., subsumption), and discusses the significance of these concepts in American law. It …

Litigation In The U.S. And In The Civil Law System: What Can We Learn From Each Other?, James Maxeiner

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Discusses the lack of American interest in learning about foreign civil procedure. Considers points where America might benefit from foreign experiences. Suggests significant differences in procedure can be attributed to emphasis on day-in-court thinking over reasoned decision thinking.

1992: High Time For American Lawyers To Learn From Europe, Or Roscoe Pound's 1906 Address Revisited, James Maxeiner

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Shows how the key points Roscoe Pound made in his famous law reform address point to foreign law study for future reform.