Comparative law

This law is newly made one and studies differences and similarities between different jurisdictions, including civil-law systems, common-law systems and religious (or theological) legal systems.

Comparative law has become of increasing practical importance for two reasons. First, the globalization of world trade means that commercial lawyers are often required to work with colleagues and clients from unfamiliar jurisdictions. The second reason is the increasing harmonization (or unification) of laws between previously separate jurisdictions, as with the European Union and the Union of South American Nations.

This kind of law is closely related to private international law and the harmonization of law. Private international law concerns the applicability of laws in situations involving other jurisdictions. Harmonization of law developed out of a need to simplify these rules, both at a national level and between sovereign states.

One more aspect of comparative law is the idea of uniform law. There are two main sources of international uniform law: The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCC) and the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT). The Hague Conference, a global intergovernmental organization with over 60 member states, is the leading organization in the area of private international law. An increasing number of non-member states are also becoming parties to the Hague conventions. The statutory mission of the HCC is to work for the progressive unification of private international law in a wide range of areas, from commercial law to international civil procedure and from child protection to matters of marriage and personal status.