A Study of Mixed Legal Systems: Endangered, Entrenched or Blended

A Study of Mixed Legal Systems: Endangered, Entrenched, or Blended takes the reader on a fascinating voyage of discovery. It includes case studies of a number of systems from across the globe: Cyprus, Guyana, Jersey, Mauritius, Philippines, Quebec, St Lucia, Scotland, and Seychelles. Each combines its legal legacies in novel ways. Large and small, in Europe and beyond, some are sovereign, some part of larger political units. Some are monolingual, some bilingual, some multilingual. Along with an analytical introduction and conclusion, the chapters explore the manner in which the elements of these mixed systems may be seen to be 'entrenched', 'endangered', or 'blended'. It explores how this process of legal change happens, questions whether some systems are at greater risk than others, and details the strategies that have been adopted to accelerate or counteract change. The studies involve consideration of the colourful histories of the jurisdictions, of their complex relationships to parent legal systems and traditions, and of language, legal education and legal actors. The volume also considers whether the experiences of these systems can tell us something about legal mixtures and movements generally. Indeed, the volume will be helpful both for scholars and students with a special interest in mixed legal systems as well as anyone interested in comparative law and legal history, in the diversity and dynamism of law.

Contents: Preface; An introductory overview; Scotland: 'is the tartan fading?', Sue Farran; Guyana: 'mosaic or melting pot?', Christine Toppin-Allahar; Philippines: 'the twentieth century as the common law's century', Pacifico A. Agabin; Jersey: 'avoiding the fate of the dodo', Philip Bailhache; Mauritius: 'capitulation, consolidation, creation', Tony Angelo; Seychelles: 'things fall apart? - The mixing of fate, free will and imposition in the laws of Seychelles', Mathilda Twomey; Quebec: 'first impressions can be misleading', Sophie Morin; Saint Lucia: 'the Quebec connection - parallelism, convergence and divergence', Jane Matthews Glenn; Cyprus: 'everything changes and nothing remains still', Achilles C. Emilianides; Endnote to mixed legal systems: endangered, entrenched, blended or muddled?; Index.