Towards a European Legal Culture

European harmonisation efforts such as a European civil code, European constitutional treaties, European principles, and European fundamental rights are frequently criticised for building on or creating a European legal culture that does not exist in the reality of European legal pluralism. This pluralistic structure of European law, it is submitted, hindered the development of a community, which would be a necessary requirement for a European legal culture. In short: There would be no common European legal culture and hence, no basis for certain harmonising exercises.
The contributors to this book explore in different legal areas whether quite the contrary is correct. Cultural pluralism might be a distinctive feature of European legal culture. Diversity is not something that is in opposition to, but rather constitutes a new, different understanding of European legal culture. The contributions demonstrate in detail how such an approach inter alia in the areas of private, corporate, administrative and constitutional law furthers understanding of a developing European legal culture, how it offers theoretical and doctrinal insights, and how it adds critical perspective.

The book comprises contributions from Ari Afilalo, Hugo Barbier, Guido Comparato, Helge Dedek, Matthew Dyson, Geneviève Helleringer, Martijn Hesselink, Régis Lanneau, Véronique Magnier, Chantal Mak, Dennis-Jonathan Mann, Klaus Mathis, Hans-Wolfgang Micklitz, Dennis Patterson, Kai Purnhagen, Darren Rosenblum, Constanze Semmelmann and Nikos Simantiras