SEMINAR SERIES: Legal Transfer in the Common Law World – October 2019 to February 2020 (MPI for European Legal History, Frankfurt)

(Source: MPI for European Legal History)

The Max Planck Institute for European Legal History has published a list of new seminars for its “Legal Transfer in the Common Law World” research field.

As the British Empire expanded, English law was being introduced in very different parts of the world. Rules, principles and institutions from England were brought into force in regions and societies as diverse as Australia, Ghana, India, Jamaica and Singapore. In this Special Research Field, we enquire how this process unfolded in various places.

In many cases English law encountered local or regional traditions, both legal and non-legal. To what extent did these encounters differ from each other? Was there ever anything resembling the frequently invoked ‘unity of the common law’? Or did the law of England acquire a distinctive flavour in each territory, depending on the geography, the climate and the prevailing religious, moral and economic views of the inhabitants? And, finally, can we learn anything from the experience of English law for the broader debate on legal ‘transplants’ and, even more generally, legal development as such?

Initially, this research field focuses primarily on the following regions: India, South East Asia and the Caribbean. Specific case studies turn on different areas of law, including constitutional law, the law of contract, land law and intellectual property. Equally important are the modes of conflict management in state courts and beyond.

The list of speakers can be found here

BOOK: William E. NELSON, The Common Law in Colonial America - Volume IV: Law and the Constitution on the Eve of Independence, 1735-1776 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018). ISBN 9780190850487, $55.00

(Source: Oxford University Press)

Oxford University Press has just published the 4^th and final volume of the “The Common Law in Colonial America” by William E. Nelson.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The eminent legal historian William E. Nelson's magisterial four-volume The Common Law in Colonial America traces how the many legal orders of Britain's thirteen North American colonies gradually evolved into one American system. Initially established on divergent political, economic, and religious grounds, the various colonial systems slowly converged until it became possible by the 1770s to imagine that all thirteen participated in a common American legal order, which diverged in its details but differed far more substantially from English common law.

This fourth and final volume begins where volume three ended. It focuses on the laws of the thirteen colonies in the mid-eighteenth century and on constitutional events leading up to the American Revolution. Nelson first examines procedural and substantive law and looks at important shifts in the law to show how the mid-eighteenth- century colonial legal system in large part functioned effectively in the interests both of Great Britain and of its thirteen colonies.

Nelson then turns to constitutional events leading to the Revolution. Here he shows how lawyers deployed ideological arguments not for their own sake, but in order to protect colonial institutional structures and the socio-economic interests of their clients. As lawyers deployed the arguments, they developed them into a constitutional theory that gave primacy to common-law constitutional rights and local self-government. In the process, the lawyers became leaders of the revolutionary movement and a dominant political force in the new United States.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

William E. Nelson has been writing and teaching in the field of American legal history for nearly 50 years. He is the author of twelve monographs and editor of three other books. In 1961 he founded the Legal History Colloquium at NYU Law School, where nearly 100 younger scholars have held fellowships and received post-graduate training, and has presided over the Colloquium since that time.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1: Common Law Constitutionalism

Chapter 2: Localist Constitutionalism

Chapter 3: Uncontested Legal Practices

Chapter 4: The Well-Functioning Empire of the Mid-Eighteenth Century

Chapter 5: Government Failure in Two Colonies

Chapter 6: Weakening the Bonds of Empire

Chapter 7: Testing the Bonds of Empire

Chapter 8: Terminating the Ties of Empire

Chapter 9: Conclusion: Legal and Constitutional Legacies

More information with the publisher

POSITION: Six Doctoral Students at Max Planck Institute (Frankfurt, October 1 2015)

WHAT Six doctoral students, call for positions

WHEN from October 1 2015 or as soon as possible thereafter 

WHERE Max Planck Institute for European Legal History, Frankfurt

all information here

deadline June 12 2015

for the following research fields in the department of Professor Stefan Vogenauer:
(1) Legal Transfer in the Common Law World;
(2) Legal History of the European Union 

Your tasks
You will develop, co-ordinate and pursue a doctoral project in one of the two research fields. Your doctoral thesis will turn on
(1) the development of rules, principles, doctrines and institutions of English law outside England, for example in selected jurisdictions of the British Empire; or
(2) the legal history of selected areas of EU law, particularly in their interaction with the legal sys-tems of the member states.
You will publish your findings and actively participate in the research activities of the Institute under the guidance of Professor Vogenauer.

Your profile
You hold a first class degree in law, the humanities or the social sciences. You work independently, are fully proficient in the English language and willing to learn German if necessary.

Our offer

We offer an attractive and international work environment with an unparalleled research infrastructure and a good working atmosphere. Payment and social benefits are based on the German Civil Service Collective Agreement (TVÖD). Depending on your qualification, the annual salary before tax will amount to EUR 28,470 (EG13 band 1, 65%). The job is a full time position (currently 39 hours per week). The position is a fixed-term appointment for three years, with the possibility of renewal for a further year in exceptional circumstances.

The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with severe disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such persons.

The Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are un-derrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.

Application procedure
You will be asked to submit the following documents:
1. Personal Statement:
- Cover letter with reference to your research proposal and an explanation as to how your profile matches the selection criteria
- Names and addresses (postal and electronic) of two scholars who have agreed to pro-vide a reference for you
2. CV: 
- Detailed CV
- List of publications
3. Other Documents:
- Research proposal (up to five pages)
- Transcripts
- A sample of writing of some 20 pages length (seminar paper, journal article, book chap-ters etc)

Please provide your referees with all the documents that you submit for your application and ask them to send their references direct to jobs@rg.mpg.de by the closing date of 12 June 2015. References may only be submitted by email. They do not have to be signed as long as they are emailed from the official mail address of the referee. Strong applicants will be invited for an interview.

Contact
Informal enquiries as to the substance of the research fields may be directed to Professor Stefan Vogenauer (vogenauer@rg.mpg.de).

Questions as to the terms and conditions of employment may be directed to Ms Sabrina Penczynski (jobs@rg.mpg.de).

Your application must be submitted online via the followed link by the closing date of 12 June 2015:

POSITION: Five Postdoctoral Research Associates at Max Planck Institute (Frankfurt, October 1 2015)

WHAT Five Postdoctoral Research Associates, call for positions

WHEN from October 1 2015 or as soon as possible thereafter 

WHERE Max Planck Institute for European Legal History, Frankfurt

all information here
deadline June 12 2015

for the following research fields in the department of Professor Stefan Vogenauer:
(1) Legal Transfer in the Common Law World;
(2) Legal History of the European Union 
Your tasks

You will develop, co-ordinate and pursue an independent project in one of the two research fields. Your research will turn on
(1) the development of rules, principles, doctrines and institutions of English law outside England, for example in selected jurisdictions of the British Empire; or
(2) the legal history of selected areas of EU law, particularly in their interaction with the legal sys-tems of the member states.
You will publish your findings and actively participate in the research activities of the Institute under the guidance of Professor Vogenauer.

Your profile

You hold a first class degree in law, the humanities or the social sciences and you produced an outstanding doctoral thesis or an equivalent portfolio of publications in a similar subject. Your CV shows the potential to produce outstanding research at an internationally advanced level. You work independently, are fully proficient in the English language and willing to learn German if necessary.

Our offer