One European private law, more than one language: in vindication of Goethe

Ringvorlesung "Translating Normativity: New Perspectives on Law and Legal Transfers"

4. Dezember 2014, 18.15 Uhr
Dr. Simone Glanert (Kent Law School, UK)

Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
Campus Westend, Casino, 1801

Video:

Abstract
Over the last decades, diverse task forces have sought to promote legal integration within the European Union. The most familiar endeavours are no doubt those of Ole Lando’s “Commission” and Christian von Bar’s “Study Group”. And it is well-known that the European Parliament has spoken in favour of a European Civil Code on various occasions and that the European Commission has provided financial sponsorship for some at least of the major projects. Although the idea of a European private law has generated considerable debate, the specific implications following upon the brand of legal uniformization being defended remain poorly appreciated. In order to yield a more insightful perspective on the proposed legal framework, I consider Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s idea of “Weltliteratur” – or world-literature – that he elaborated in 1827 in a context where leading German intellectuals felt it imperative to move the cultural agenda beyond the
narrow confines of parochial interests. The striking contrast between the two models of intercultural communication sheds light on the legal initiatives mentioned above. In particular, my comparative and interdisciplinary analysis points to the many translational problems arising from the development of uniform law in a plurilingual setting which are either ignored or downplayed by proponents of a European private law.

CV
Simone Glanert, a graduate of the Sorbonne and a former Rudolf B. Schlesinger Fellow at Cornell Law School, is a Senior Lecturer at Kent Law School (UK) where she teaches comparative law, French public law, and legal interpretation. She has acted as visiting professor in Grenoble, Montreal, and at the Sorbonne. Her research focuses on theoretical issues arising from the practice of comparison in the context of the globalization and Europeanization of laws. In this regard, Dr. Glanert’s monograph De la traductibilité du droit (Paris: Dalloz, 2011) critically assesses the possibilities and limits of legal translation from an interdisciplinary perspective. In addition, she recently edited Comparative Law – Engaging Translation (London: Routledge, 2014). Further, she acted as Guest Editor for a special issue on law and
translation just released by The Translator, a leading translation-studies journal. Other representative publications include “Foreign Law in Translation: If Truth Be Told...”, in Michael Freeman and Fiona Smith (eds), Current Legal Issues: Law and Language (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013; co-authored with Pierre Legrand) and “Method?”, in Pier G. Monateri (ed.), Methods of Comparative Law (Cheltenham, UK: Elgar, 2012).

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Veranstalter:
Exzellenzcluster "Die Herausbildung normativer Ordnungen" in besonderer Zusammenarbeit mit dem Partner des Exzellenzclusters, dem Max-Planck-Institut für europäische Rechtsgeschichte

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