On the Use of Comparative Law by Judges in Private and Commercial Law Cases
On the Use of Comparative Law by Judges in Private and Commercial Law Cases

Summary/Abstract: The author presents an analysis of the problem of uses of comparative law by judges in private and commercial law cases. The starting point of this article is the assumption that national judges, ruling on cases, seldom make any references to law and case law of other countries. Although such uses sometimes appear in public law cases but are almost inexistent in private law. The author’s contention is that such uses should be more frequent, and become common ground, since they are beneficial for the development of national law. This contention is defended in two parts. First, the author presents the purpose of comparative law uses by national judges – the advantages that such uses can bring and a description of how such uses can contribute to a better and stronger unification of different legal systems. Second, the author focuses on the issue of the legitimacy of comparative law references in court rulings. The arguments presented defend the thesis that national judges are allowed to make reference to foreign law and that such uses are not against their national law

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