Die Übertragung von Rechtsvorstellungen auf fremde Kulturen am Beispiel des englischen Kolonialrechts

Helmut Janssen examines the problems arising when domestic concepts of law are transferred to foreign cultures. He chooses the judicature of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as an example. After giving a survey of the historical development of the colonial courts and the cultural background of their judges, he analyzes the case law on the applicability of English law in the British Empire. He explains how colonial judges applied their legal methods, terms, doctrines and procedures in order to understand Islamic, Hindu and indigenous laws in Africa and America - and shows how the judges' attempts to understand the foreign legal cultures failed.