Legal transplants an interdisciplinary approach Mathias Siems

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Siems, Mathias M., 1974- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Comparative law.

Bill drafting.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford University Press, 2026.

Oxford New York, NY Oxford University Press [2026]

Summary:

50 years after Alan Watson's 'Legal Transplants: An Approach to Comparative Law', the concept of legal transplants remains central to comparative legal scholarship. Over time, the literature has expanded to explore how laws are drafted, interpreted, and understood across jurisdictions-revealing legal transplants as a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. This book offers a nuanced and balanced analysis of the evolution of legal transplants, engaging with both foundational texts and recent developments. It goes beyond traditional legal discourse to incorporate insights from other disciplines, including policy studies, cultural transfer, entangled history, and the diffusion of ideas. By doing so, it broadens the scope of the debate and encourages a more interdisciplinary approach to understanding how legal norms travel and take root. Importantly, the book makes a strong case for the continued relevance of legal transplants in modern law-making

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Title Page

Copyright Page

Preface

Contents

Figures

Tables

Abbreviations

1 Introduction

A. Motivation and main idea of this book

B. What are 'legal transplants'?

1. The 'battle of metaphors'

2. Motivational examples

C. Relationship to existing literature

1. Books on legal transplants and related concepts

2. Research in other academic disciplines

D. Outline of chapters

2 A Bibliometric Assessment of the Use of the Term 'Legal Transplants'

A. Introduction

B. The origins of the term 'legal transplants' and related concepts

1. Alan Watson, his contemporaries, and predecessors

2. Relationship to literature published in other languages

C. Evolution of use of the term 'legal transplants' and related terms across time

1. General evaluation showing increased use

2. Related terms and their use

3. Interpretation

D. Substantive use in law journals and elsewhere

1. Combined use of 'legal transplants' with keywords

2. Analysis of types of journals

E. Conclusion

3 An Anatomy of Legal Transplants

A. Introduction

B. Object of the transplant

1. Categories

2. Relevance and interactions

C. Relevant units

1. Countries as conventional units

2. Further units

D. Transplantation

1. Form of transplantation

2. Effect of transplantation

4 Why Do Legal Transplants Take Place?

A. Introduction

B. The debate about motivations

1. Motivations of the origin unit

2. Motivations of the transplant unit

3. Motivations of agents

4. Interconnected motivations of multiple units and agents

C. Understanding causes of causes

1. Idea and overview

2. Fully externally imposed transplants

3. Transplants adopted by the transplant unit

(a) Knowledge about transplant

(b) External pressure to adopt transplant

(c) Perceived economic quality

(d) Perceived other qualities

D. Conclusion

5 Do Legal Transplants 'Work'?

B. General positions in the literature

1. Optimists: they work

2. Pessimists: they are irrelevant

3. Realists: it depends on the society of the transplant unit

C. Framework and differentiations

1. Framework of analysis

2. Law known and understood

(A) General factors discussed in literature

(b) Representative examples

(c) Conclusion

3. Law complied with and/or enforced

(a) General factors discussed in literature

4. Law has desired influence on society

6 Is it Desirable to Use Legal Transplants?

B. Views of literature expressing general tendencies

1. General supporters

2. General opponents

3. Preliminary assessment

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on May 14, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9780191991981

0191991988

9780198884149

0198884141

9780198884132

0198884133

OCLC:

1581561156

Publisher Number:

CIPO000370867

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license