General Legal Theory and Legal Philosophy

In the past, the world congresses created an excellent forum for information exchange and discussion between legal experts worldwide. Information exchange is the starting point for any comparative legal analysis. The world congresses have also been rare occasions where comparative legal scholars from different disciplines could meet. Traditionally, the role of comparative law has been extensive in the Netherlands. This can be seen when looking at, for instance, the parliamentary and scholarly debates concerning the new Civil Code. Furthermore, there is growing awareness that economic integration, be it regional or global, has an undeniable and unavoidable impact on Dutch law. The international reputation of the Dutch legal order as being open towards solutions developed by other jurisdictions played an important role for the Academy when it had to decide in Brisbane, Australia, four years ago, where the next congress would be held. Comparative legal analysis is undeniably of growing importance in the Netherlands. This applies to the legislative process and judicial deliberations as well as to the curricula of law faculties. It is more and more realised that law as a learning process has much to gain from foreign experience. Given this growing importance of comparative law, more and more Dutch national organisations of legal experts now discuss topics not only on a strictly national, but also on a comparative basis. This has led to a changing role of the Netherlands Comparative Law Association. The association is focussing more and more on interdisciplinary comparative research, bringing together scholars from various fields and backgrounds.

Summary: I limiti del diritto - 1. Katechon – 2. Local values – 3. Più informati e più indecisi – 4. In archivio – 5. Riflessività