Eliahu HirschbergThe Impact of Inflation and Devaluation on Private Legal Obligations
Eliahu HirschbergThe Impact of Inflation and Devaluation on Private Legal Obligations
, J.G.F.
1978-01-01 00:00:00
Book Notices ELIAHU HIRSCHBERG. The Impact of Inflation and Devaluation on Private Legal Obligations. Ramat-Gan, Israel: Bar-Ilan University, 1976. Pp . 384. Unfortunately this book make s only a modest addition to th e meagr e literature of (comparative) monetary law. It s author, a single-minded and prolific contributor to journals in man y countries (his own writings tak e u p more than one page of the 7-page bibliography), ha s been tilting relentlessly for many years against th e wind mills of nominalism—a not unworthy cause. Th e book is polemical and, despite its size, covers relatively little ground; it is needlessly repetitive, discursive and undis ciplined. Its references to primary authority are mainly English interspersed with America n ("Anglo-Saxon"); but these and other references to Continental law (mainly based on secondary sources) are rather incomplete and poorly analyzed. Although the book is date d 1976, th e researc h seemed to hav e stopped many years earlier: which alone detracts greatly from its usefulness on a topic tha t has experi enced an enormou s boost in th e recen t past. All th e same, a discerning reader may pick up a few nuggets from this stony and neglected ground. Par t 1 deals with "The General Solution" (nominalism), Part 2 with Value Clauses, Par t 3 with Special Problems : bilateral executory contracts (frustration or rescission?), delayed payment of monetar y obligations (interest only o r damages?), breac h of contract (advocating a rebuttable presumption that the injured party mus t mitigate on breach day) and tort damages (mostly obsolete). J.G.F. GEORGE LEISTNER. tTberdie Veroffentlichungspraxis obersterund hoherer Gerich- te in Westeuropa. Tubingen, 1975. Pp . v, 100. While th e publication of laws in most states is regulate d by statute quite specif ically and minutely, the criteria and mechanics for the selection and publication of court decisions are generally not known. Fo r the commo n law jurisdiction s it is know n tha t cases ar e usually selected for reportin g if they introduce new principles or modify existing principles of law. This selection is done mainly by the professional reporters and editors who thus determin e to a large extent the content and the direction of the so called "judge- mad e law." Dr. Leistner goes as far as to call it "reporter-made law," since the reporter s and th e editors usually decide on th e "if," "how," an d "what" of case law reporting, and thus on the development of this law. In civil law jurisdictions, as the recent past has shown, the practical impor tanc e of court decisions ha s increased substantially. In addition to th e written and codified law which is the primary source of law in continental jurisdictions, court decisions are more and more assuming the role of a subsidiary source of law. The court s are helping the legislator as interpreters of specific legal situations. Their publicly available decisions are necessary to safeguard, promote and preserve the principles of th e Rechtsstaat. Therefore th e matte r of th e selection and publication of appellate court decisions in civil law jurisdictions deserves to be better known an d documented. Dr. George Leistner has made a significant contribution to remedy the situa tion, by providing us with much heretofore unavailable data, obtained from a survey of West European superior and supreme courts conducted in 1973/74. An
http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.pngAmerican Journal of Comparative LawOxford University Presshttp://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/eliahu-hirschbergthe-impact-of-inflation-and-devaluation-on-private-bZOCVdu7zu
Eliahu HirschbergThe Impact of Inflation and Devaluation on Private Legal Obligations
Book Notices ELIAHU HIRSCHBERG. The Impact of Inflation and Devaluation on Private Legal Obligations. Ramat-Gan, Israel: Bar-Ilan University, 1976. Pp . 384. Unfortunately this book make s only a modest addition to th e meagr e literature of (comparative) monetary law. It s author, a single-minded and prolific contributor to journals in man y countries (his own writings tak e u p more than one page of the 7-page bibliography), ha s been tilting relentlessly for many years against th e wind mills of nominalism—a not unworthy cause. Th e book is polemical and, despite its size, covers relatively little ground; it is needlessly repetitive, discursive and undis ciplined. Its references to primary authority are mainly English interspersed with America n ("Anglo-Saxon"); but these and other references to Continental law (mainly based on secondary sources) are rather incomplete and poorly analyzed. Although the book is date d 1976, th e researc h seemed to hav e stopped many years earlier: which alone detracts greatly from its usefulness on a topic tha t has experi enced an enormou s boost in th e recen t past. All th e same, a discerning reader may pick up a few nuggets from this stony and neglected ground. Par t 1 deals with "The General Solution" (nominalism), Part 2 with Value Clauses, Par t 3 with Special Problems : bilateral executory contracts (frustration or rescission?), delayed payment of monetar y obligations (interest only o r damages?), breac h of contract (advocating a rebuttable presumption that the injured party mus t mitigate on breach day) and tort damages (mostly obsolete). J.G.F. GEORGE LEISTNER. tTberdie Veroffentlichungspraxis obersterund hoherer Gerich- te in Westeuropa. Tubingen, 1975. Pp . v, 100. While th e publication of laws in most states is regulate d by statute quite specif ically and minutely, the criteria and mechanics for the selection and publication of court decisions are generally not known. Fo r the commo n law jurisdiction s it is know n tha t cases ar e usually selected for reportin g if they introduce new principles or modify existing principles of law. This selection is done mainly by the professional reporters and editors who thus determin e to a large extent the content and the direction of the so called "judge- mad e law." Dr. Leistner goes as far as to call it "reporter-made law," since the reporter s and th e editors usually decide on th e "if," "how," an d "what" of case law reporting, and thus on the development of this law. In civil law jurisdictions, as the recent past has shown, the practical impor tanc e of court decisions ha s increased substantially. In addition to th e written and codified law which is the primary source of law in continental jurisdictions, court decisions are more and more assuming the role of a subsidiary source of law. The court s are helping the legislator as interpreters of specific legal situations. Their publicly available decisions are necessary to safeguard, promote and preserve the principles of th e Rechtsstaat. Therefore th e matte r of th e selection and publication of appellate court decisions in civil law jurisdictions deserves to be better known an d documented. Dr. George Leistner has made a significant contribution to remedy the situa tion, by providing us with much heretofore unavailable data, obtained from a survey of West European superior and supreme courts conducted in 1973/74. An
Journal
American Journal of Comparative Law
– Oxford University Press
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