Families of Nations and Institutional Transplantation

Varieties of legal systems: towards a new global taxonomy

“…For example, in economic geography, a distinction is made between spatial, institutional, cultural, organisational and relational proximity (Coe et al, 2010: 147-148 (Berkowitz et al, 2003a and2003b; similar for policy transfers, Lalenis et al, 2002). Here too then one could argue that legal taxonomies provide useful normative information as they can help to illuminate the degree of familiarity between different legal systems.…”

“…For example, if it is assumed that belonging to the English legal origin may have possible advantages (see previous section), it could be advisable for countries of other legal origins to shift closer to the model of the common law. An alternative normative position is that what matters are the familiarity with and the adaptation of the transplanted legal system (Berkowitz et al , 2003a and 2003b; similar for policy transfers, Lalenis et al , 2002). Here too then one could argue that legal taxonomies provide useful normative information as they can help to illuminate the degree of familiarity between different legal systems.…”

Does the Eu Stifle Voluntary Policy Transfer? A Study of the Introduction of Freedom of Information in Portugal and Ireland

“…The French family is the largest one in Europe, given the French influence on administrative law in Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal and Spain (see Bell 1998). The common law family is small within Europe, but globally it includes North America, Southern Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Australia (Lalenis et al 2002). French and common law families were built up through coercive policy transfer from a ‘parent’ to ‘descendants’ in the context of Napoleonic empire‐building and colonialization.…”

“…However, even in the absence of coercion, later voluntary policy transfer has occurred within the same family, based on a logic of appropriateness combined with the objective of limiting transaction costs. Models from the same family after all seem ‘more readily available and safer to transplant’ (Lalenis et al 2002, p. 46 f.). Peters, without making use of the term ‘family of nations’, points out that the main state traditions may function as ‘epistemic communities’ that exclude or privilege the transfer of policy ideas (1997, p. 78).…”

“…The increasing significance of international institutions and networks in promoting the spread of policy instruments has been widely noted (Therborn 1993; Bennett 1997; Dolowitz and Marsh 2000; Tews et al 2003, Stone 2004; Ladi 2005). It has been argued that policy transfers have changed their nature from bilateral to multilateral through the impacts of globalization and europeanization (see Lalenis et al 2002), and that the EU represents a new significant ‘family of nations’ (Therborn 1993, p. 337). However, these general observations leave many questions open with regard to the interaction between different types of transfer.…”