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Convergence and Divergence of National Legal Systems

Coping with the Challenges of Globalization:
A TILEC Contribution to the HiiL Research Programme

Summary of the Project

Globalization challenges national legal systems to identify and maintain their “core” while accepting that non-core elements will evolve as more complex institutional structures emerge.
A first part deals with issues of convergence and divergence: In the light of globalization, why is there convergence or divergence of legal systems and how can it be identified and measured? When and how should divergence be corrected, if at all? A second part touches upon the evolution of fundamental principles, asking if and how the rule of law and accountability are translated into principles of good governance suited to a globalised environment.

Project Leader

Prof. Pierre Larouche  - Tilburg University

Researchers

Dr. Filomena Chirico
Dr. Saskia Lavrijssen
Prof. Eric van Damme
Dr. Paul de Bijl
Dr. Leigh Hancher
Prof. Damien Geradin
Dr. Walter van Gerven
Dr. Peter Cserne

Duration

June 2007 – September 2010

Grant Awarded 

€ 211,600,-

Matching

€ 25,000,-

Scientific Publications

  • Cserne, P. (2009) “Policy arguments before courts: The role of consequentialist reasoning
    in judicial procedures”.
    • Paper presented at the Central and Eastern European Forum of Young Legal, Social
      and Political Philosophers (Silesian University Katowice, 2 May 2009), Seminar on Legal and Economic Reasoning (Université de Paris Ouest Nanterre la Défense, 13 May 2009), Post-doctoral Conference in Law and Economics (Universität Hamburg, Graduiertenkolleg Recht und Ökonomik, 18 July 2009) and forthcoming in a volume with selected papers
      from the Katowice Forum in 2010.
  • Chirico, F. and Larouche, P. (2008) “Conceptual Divergence, Functionalism, and the Economics of Convergence”, in The Coherence of EU Law. Eds: Prechal, S. & van Roermund, B. OUP. pp. 463-494.
  • Chirico, F. (2008) “When is Divergence a Problem? The Case of a Global Competition Order”.
    • Presentations based on this paper were made at the CLEEN Workshop in Norwich, UK, on 12-13 June 2008 and at the XXV Conference of the European Association of Law and Economics in Haifa, Israel, (24-26 September 2008)
    • Paper soon to appear in the TILEC DP Series on SSRN
  • Larouche, P. (2008) “Ex Ante Evaluation of Legislation Torn amongst Its Rationales”, TILEC Discussion Paper No. 2008-029.
  • Lavrijssen, S. and Hancher, L. (2008) “European Regulators in the Network Sectors: Revolution or Evolution?” TILEC Discussion Paper No 2008-024.
  • De Visser, M. (2007) “Revolution or Evolution – What Future for EC Communications Law?” TILEC Discussion Paper No 2007-028.

    • Update

    In the academic year 2009-2010, Prof. Pierre, the Project Leader, is using his HiiL funding to finance a sabbatical at Northwestern University, a top 10 US law school with great research facilities and an institutional environment resembling that of Tilburg University. During the sabbatical year, Prof. Larouche will carry out his work on ‘regulatory emulation’ – a notion that has emerged as one of the central objects of inquiry in this research project - and will also write the project’s concluding paper.

    Contact Information

    Morly Frishman
    Research and Programme Officer
    morly.frishman@hiil.org
    +31 (0)70 3494409