Sources of Law, Legal Change, and Ambiguity

Why is the law notoriously unclear, arcane, slow to change in the face of changing circumstances? In this sweeping comparative analysis of the lawmaking process from ancient Rome to the present day, Alan Watson argues that the answer has largely to do with the mixed ancestry of modern law, the confusion of sources--custom, legislation, scholarly writing, and judicial precedent--from which it derives.

Author: Alan Watson
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Published: 10/01/1997
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.57lbs
Size: 8.41h x 5.47w x 0.61d
ISBN: 9780812216394

About the Author
Alan Watson is Earnest P. Rogers Professor of Law, University of Georgia. He is the author of many books of legal history, including Rome of the Twelve Tables; Roman Slave Law; and Failures of the Legal Imagination, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.