Conceptualizing Property Law: Integrating Common Law and Civil Law Traditions

Conceptualizing Property Law offers a transsystemic and integrated approach to common law and civil law property. Property law has traditionally been excluded from comparative law analysis, common law and civil law property being deemed irreconcilable. With this book, Yaëll Emerich aims to dispel the myth that comparison between these two systems of property is impossible. By establishing a dialogue between common law and civil law property, it becomes clear that the two legal traditions share common ground in the way that they address legal, cultural, and social issues related to property and wealth.

In this comparative analysis, specific parallels are drawn between the common law and civil law in their treatment of historical property models, possession, ownership, private property limits, objects of property, fragmentation and modifications to property, and trusts. This integrated approach to common law and civil law property draws examples from multiple jurisdictions, including England, Scotland, Canada, Québec, First Nations, France, and Germany.

Private, transsystemic, and comparative law scholars and students, especially property law scholars will be interested in the book’s approach to property law and its analysis of the theoretical foundations and conceptions of property and ownership in the common law and civil law traditions. It will also be informative for property law practitioners.