Thursday, October 21, 2004
- Bouncing Back! After the fiasco of my over-ambitious mini-presentation in class, my interview with Prof. Kroes went very well. My new Term Paper proposal has the following title: "Comments on the Americanization of European Law". Here's the outline:
. Introduction
- NIAS Statement: there are "hidden, but significant" types of cultural vehicles for the spread of American mass culture.
- Law is one of them.
- Three examples: Spain introduces jury trial (1996); European Court of Justice adopts stare decisis, the doctrine of the precedent (2000); France introduces plea bargaining (2004) (*).
- Questions to analyze: (a) What drives the "Americanization" of European law?; (b) Is there a "line in the sand"? ; (c) Where does that leave the more general debate about US-EU relations?
. Section I: Legal Cultures
- Key reference: Antoine Garapon & Ioannis Papadopoulos: Juger en France et en Amérique. (Paris: Odile Jacob, 2003.)
- Historical aspects: David Carpenter, The Struggle for Mastery. England 1066-1284. (London: Penguin, 2003, chapter 7); Larry D. Kramer, The People Themselves. Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial Review (Oxford University Press, 2004); Alexis de Tocqueville, De la démocratie en Amérique.
. Section II: Europe Receives American Law
- European Court of Justice: Peter Birkes & Adrianna Pretto: Themes in Comparative Law (Oxford University Press, 2002).
- France introduces plea bargaining: Le Monde.
- The economic hypothesis (globalization, need to harmonize legal systems, etc.)
. Section III: The "Line in the Sand"
. Introduction
- NIAS Statement: there are "hidden, but significant" types of cultural vehicles for the spread of American mass culture.
- Law is one of them.
- Three examples: Spain introduces jury trial (1996); European Court of Justice adopts stare decisis, the doctrine of the precedent (2000); France introduces plea bargaining (2004) (*).
- Questions to analyze: (a) What drives the "Americanization" of European law?; (b) Is there a "line in the sand"? ; (c) Where does that leave the more general debate about US-EU relations?
. Section I: Legal Cultures
- Key reference: Antoine Garapon & Ioannis Papadopoulos: Juger en France et en Amérique. (Paris: Odile Jacob, 2003.)
- Historical aspects: David Carpenter, The Struggle for Mastery. England 1066-1284. (London: Penguin, 2003, chapter 7); Larry D. Kramer, The People Themselves. Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial Review (Oxford University Press, 2004); Alexis de Tocqueville, De la démocratie en Amérique.
. Section II: Europe Receives American Law
- European Court of Justice: Peter Birkes & Adrianna Pretto: Themes in Comparative Law (Oxford University Press, 2002).
- France introduces plea bargaining: Le Monde.
- The economic hypothesis (globalization, need to harmonize legal systems, etc.)
. Section III: The "Line in the Sand"
- Problems with jury trial: Spain & Great Britain (Great Britain as a "special case".)
- The death penalty: a non-negotiable element.
- The debate over international law.
. Conclusion
- The debate over international law.
. Conclusion
- Due to increasing economic interdependence, Europe has no choice but to incorporate the more practical aspects of the American legal culture (stare decisis, plea bargaining.)
- But Europeans have drawn a "line in the sand" when it comes to death penalty and international law.
- But Europeans have drawn a "line in the sand" when it comes to death penalty and international law.
- The analysis of legal cultures provides a new perspective on the broad debate over EU-US relations.
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(*) See Natalie Guibert, "La justice francaise passe a l'heure du plaider coupable", Le Monde, October 1, 2004.
# posted by Agustin @ 5:15 PM 
