Form and Substance in Anglo-American Law A Comparative Study in Legal Reasoning, Legal Theory, and Legal Institutions

by Atiyah, P. S.; Summers, Robert S.

• ISBN13: 9780198255772
• ISBN10: 0198255772
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1987-11-12
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

This book has a completely original theme, or set of themes. It offers first a new way of analyzing styles of legal reasoning--between more "formal" and more "substantive" styles--that is a major contribution to jurisprudence in its own right. The authors then go on to demonstrate in detail the differences in legal reasoning--and in the legal systems as a whole--between England and America, and suggest that the English is a much more "formal" system and the American a more "substantive." Finally, the book explores a wide range of cultural, institutional, and historical factors relating to the two legal systems.

Table of Contents

Note on Terminology	xiii
Table of U.K. Cases	xv
Table of U.S. Cases	xviii
1. Introduction	1	(41)
1. Aims	1	(4)
2. Form and Substance in Legal Reasoning	5	(6)
3. Different Types of Formality in Legal Reasoning	11	(10)
4. Second-Level Substantive Reasons	21	(7)
5. Formal and Formalistic, Substantive and 'Substantivistic' Reasoning	28	(4)
6. Anglo-American Differences	32	(3)
7. The Background to the Differences	35	(7)
2. Standards for Determining the Authoritativeness of Law	42	(28)
1. Introduction	42	(1)
2. Content-Oriented Standards of Validity	43	(10)
3. Conflicts between Otherwise Valid Laws	53	(17)
3. Rules and Other Varieties of Law	70	(26)
1. Introduction	70	(1)
2. The Nature and Role of Rules	71	(4)
3. The Flexibility of Rules	75	(13)
4. Two Conceptions of Rules	88	(5)
5. Legal Principles	93	(3)
4. Statute Law	96	(19)
1. The Inherent Formality of Statute Law	96	(4)
2. Statutory Interpretation	100	(12)
3. The Mandatory Formality of Statutes	112	(3)
5. The Common Law	115	(42)
1. Introduction	115	(3)
2. Stare Decisis: Differences	118	(9)
3. Some Explanations for the Differences	127	(7)
4. The Methodology of Legal Change	134	(16)
5. Public Law Litigation	150	(7)
6. The Trial Process	157	(29)
1. Introduction	157	(4)
2. The Trial as a Formal Fact-Finding Process	161	(8)
3. The Jury	169	(9)
4. Substantive Nullification of Formal Law	178	(8)
7. The Judicial Enforcement of Law	186	(36)
1. Introduction	186	(1)
2. The Accessibility of the Courts	187	(8)
3. Speed and Efficiency of the Judicial Process	195	(13)
4. The Finality and Enforcement of Judgments	208	(8)
5. Finality in Criminal Procedure	216	(3)
6. Due Process: A Possible Counter-example?	219	(3)
8. Legal Theories in England and America: 1776	222	(18)
1. English Legal Theory in 1776	222	(7)
2. American Legal Theory in 1776	229	(11)
9. Legal Theories in England and America: The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries	240	(27)
1. English Legal Theory in the Nineteenth Century	240	(5)
2. American Legal Theory in the Nineteenth Century	245	(4)
3. American Legal Theory 1900-1950	249	(8)
4. English Legal Theory 1900-1950	257	(1)
5. Contemporary Legal Theory	257	(10)
10. The Courts	267	(31)
1. The Function of Courts of Last Resort	267	(4)
2. Selection of Cases for Decision	271	(6)
3. Procedure of Appellate Courts	277	(4)
4. Law Clerks	281	(2)
5. Levels of Dissent	283	(6)
6. Lower Courts	289	(9)
11. The Makers and the Making of Statute Law	298	(38)
1. Introduction	298	(1)
2. The Relations between Executive and Legislature: England	299	(7)
3. The Relations between Executives and Legislatures: America	306	(9)
4. The Drafting of Legislation	315	(8)
5. Differences in Statute-Making: Some Illustrations	323	(6)
6. Differences in Legislative Personnel	329	(7)
12. The Judges	336	(23)
1. Introduction	336	(1)
2. Size and Structure of the Judiciary	337	(2)
3. Qualifications, Modes of Appointment, and Tenure	339	(8)
4. The Professionalization of the Judiciary	347	(6)
5. Diversity and Homogeneity in the Judiciary	353	(6)
13. The Legal Professions	359	(25)
1. Introduction	359	(1)
2. The English Bar: A Unique Institution	360	(9)
3. Attorneys and Solicitors	369	(6)
4. Qualifications of Lawyers and the Form-Substance Distinction	375	(3)
5. The Public Policy Role of Lawyers	378	(6)
14. Law Schools, Legal Education, and Legal Literature	384	(24)
1. Introduction	384	(1)
2. The Nature and Status of Law Schools	384	(4)
3. American and English Legal Education	388	(10)
4. The Policy Role of Law Professors	398	(5)
5. The Overall Influence of Law Schools	403	(5)
15. Concluding Remarks	408	(25)
1. Summary	408	(3)
2. Two Visions of Law	411	(4)
3. Universal Jurisprudence?	415	(5)
4. Evaluation and Criticism	420	(6)
5. Practical Reform-Especially 'Transplants'	426	(2)
6. Future Research	428	(5)
Index	433