Wege der Entwicklung des Privatrechts in Europa. Römischrechtliche Grundlagen der Privatrechtsentwicklung in den deutschsprachigen Ländern und ihre Ausstrahlung auf Mittel‐ und Osteuropa by Gábor Hamza

DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.2008.00686_2.x
Date01 January 2008
Published date01 January 2008
panels to engage in the time consuming and arduous task of fact ¢nding, while
ensuring accountability, openness, coherence and independence.
InvestmentTreatyArbitration and Public Law is a signi¢cant contribution to the lit-
erature on what is an active and developing area of international law. I heartily
concur with ProfessorVaughan Lowes statement in the book’s preface: ‘Readers
may notagree with all of his viewsand conclusions, butas tribunals struggle with
these crucial issues they can only be helped by the clarity and insights of this
robust and timely study.
Andrew Newcombe
n
Ga
Łbor Hamza, Wege der Entwicklung des Privatrechts in Europ a. R˛mis-
chrechtliche Grundlagen der Privatrechtsentwicklung in den deutsch-
sprachigen La
ºndern und ihre Ausstrahlung auf Mittel- und Osteuropa, 264 pp,
hb h29.95, Passau: SchenkVerlag.
Professor Hamza’s new magnum opus is unquestionably an important contribution
to the harmonisation of European legal science. Its stated aim is to explore the
common historical roots of the private law parts of the legal orders in Europe.
Paradoxically but not incomprehensibly, its title suggests more diversities than
similarities: the German wordWe g e (ways, directions) evokes the idea of several
divergent departures from a common starting point in the readers mind. It is
exactlythe e¡ect to whichHamza aspired.His i ntention is to reiterate theold locus
communis of legal historians: that Continental private legal ordersare almost indis-
cernibly permeated with remnants of the ancient Roman legal system and that
the recently desired ius commune (privatum) Europaeum is inconceivable without
the conscious undertaking of this historical task. However, the drafting of this
ghost story’ (in Vi nogrado¡’s words) is not a long li ne of unbroken success. Mis-
understandings and misinterpretations have always clouded and distorted the
developmentof the description of privatelaw in Europe.As an example, oneonly
needs to remindoneself of the concept of legalresponsibility or the tenacious and
unreasonable vitality of the aedilician six months term of rescission in the case
of latent defect (see W. Kunkel and M. Schermaier, R˛mische Rechtsgeschichte
(2001), 95).
Avoidingthese punctilious details, the authoro¡ers a genealogy of Central and
Eastern European legal orders. Hamza’s story is simultaneously based on an
intrinsically institutional, political and chronological approach. He carefully
guides the reader through the chaotic political relations which are characteristic
of the newly formed states of this region. His book also contains a detailed sum-
mary of what the Germans, following Leibniz, would call a
ºuere Rechtsgeschichte
(‘external history of law’). The book is essential reading for anyone who would
like to analyse, compare or simply become familiar with the almost ‘exotic’legal
orders referred to within it.With its comprehensive bibliography it serves as an
n
Faculty of Law,University of Victoria.
Reviews
151
r2008 The Authors.Journal Compilation r20 08The Modern Law Review Limited.
(2008) 71(1) 145^158

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