I came across a very interesting article recently, published in the Jersey & Guernsey Law Review in June last year, by Roger Halson, Professor of Contract and Commercial Law at the School of Law, University of Leeds. It may interest all those readers who juggle with common and civil legal systems on a daily basis.

In the context of a proposal to codify the law of contract in the island of Jersey, Prof. Halson describes the history of codification in the UK, definitions of codification and its advantages and disadvantages. He also discusses the proposed European Contract Law.

We see how the common law and codified systems overlap and how they interact together, with examples from all over the world.

Halson concludes that Jersey may be fertile ground for codifying its common law of contract if reforms are carried out with care, enabling the process to take place “without the suspicion that accompanies such suggestions in the UK”.

The whole article can be accessed here.