Article by Daniel Visser
This Article attempts to give an account of the role of cultural forces (such as language, education, perceptions of identity, political orientation, values, and intellectual inspiration) in the making of mixed legal systems. Examples are drawn from the South African experience, but they are intended also to be representative of the experience in other mixed jurisdictions. The Article pays particular attention to the role of “legal opinion makers” in directing which cultural factors most affect a legal system at a particular point in time. In addition to demonstrating the formative role of culture in mixed legal systems, the study compares the common law and the civil law on the basis of Geert Hofstede's “dimensions of culture” and comes to the conclusion that these two traditions are, culturally speaking, more compatible than is often realized. Finally, the article takes sides in the debate between Alan Watson and Pierre Legrand, arguing that, because culture is always learnt, it can also be unlearnt; and that therefore no existing cultural realities need ever be permanent obstacles to change.
About the Author
Daniel Visser. Professor of Law, University of Cape Town.
Citation
78 Tul. L. Rev. 41 (2003)