The Great Legal Systems

The book provides a comprehensive historical and comparative overview of the major legal systems and tracks the evolution of law. The exposition begins with a review of private and public law of continental Europe, continues with Russian and Soviet law, law in South America, passes to English customary law, analyzes Indian and African law and ends with the law in East Asia. The historical study of positive law originates from European legal systems and follows the path outlined by the non-European law, which leads from the most primitive systems to the more complex and stratified legal functions. Although the author disputes ethnocentrism, and in particular legal Eurocentrism, European law is a natural benchmark for comparison with other positive legal systems.

The book is intended for the people who are not lawyers and those who already have legal expertise and wish to supplement them. It could serve as a complement to the comparative law books used in universities.