An Introduction to the Comparative Study of Private Law Readings, Cases, Materials

This collection of readings places side by side the principal doctrines of contracts, torts, unjust enrichment, and property in the cases of the United States, England, France, Germany and China. It presents code provisions, cases, and other legal materials that describe the law in force, and places each doctrine in its historical context to enable an understanding of the development of law as an ongoing process, in which the resolution of current issues depends upon how past issues were resolved. It both provides a road map of the private law of these jurisdictions, and illustrates how private law has been shaped by history, by the effort to solve common problems, and by differences in culture. This new edition reflects changes in the law, and includes the addition of Chinese Law as a comparative study.

Preface; Foreword by Shiyuan Han; Foreword by Reinhard Zimmermann; Foreword by André Tunc; Foreword by Roscoe Pound; 1. Traditions; 2. Institutions; Part I. The Law of Obligations: 3. The structure of contract law; 4. Voluntary commitment; 5. Fairness; 6. Excuses for non-performance; 7. Remedies; 8. The scope of the rights protected; 9. The conduct for which one is liable; 10. The principle; 11. Must one party gain at the other's expense?; Part II. The Law of Property: 12. Possession; 13. Ownership.

James Gordley holds the W. R. Irby Chair in Law at Tulane University, and specialises in comparative and contract law.
Hao Jiang is an assistant professor of comparative law at Università Bocconi. He writes in the areas of American corporate and contract law, Chinese and European civil law and comparative law.
Arthur Taylor von Mehren was Professor of Law at Harvard University, Massachusetts, and was a world-renowned scholar in international and comparative law.