You're so full of ****. Thanks
@Superhai for clearing it up AGAIN.
I am getting bored of your heckling. Nobody has disproven my statement that Denmark is a civil law country...
If you study law, it's a pretty simple fact. Most of Europe uses the civil law system and it's nothing like the system in the USA. Please read up on it rather than making shrill remarks, as they are unhelpful.
No, you are not.
In Denmark it is called "retspraksis" which is basically what sets precedents. If a similar case was to come up again, the judges will issue a ruling based on former final decisions ("retspraksis"), unless there are arguments against and then the challenge will usually only happen in the higher courts. In which case they will go back to the constitutional or statutory laws. Even unwritten as customary ("sædvane") and cultural tradition ("forholdets natur") are sources of law, which could be important in these cases.
For those of you who want to know the applicable danish law text, The Aarhus University semi-maintains an unofficial translation (it is missing the latest update but is not relevant in this case).
http://www.sprog.asb.dk/SN/Danish Sale of Goods Act.pdf where the applicable law is § 78.
I don't recommend using Google Translate or similar at all when translating law!
1. Your page lists decisions for information only... it lets you see how judges have ruled. Your previous reference was in relation to the CISG (which I studied in International Sale of Goods Law and worked with at the Vis Moots). It was mostly a reference for foreign lawyers so they can get a feel for how different countries will interpret the CISG (the international 'Convention on the International Sale of Goods'... which is sometimes used as a source of law when drafting contracts for the sale of goods between countries, so it's off-topic really, but the relationship between it and domestic law can be interesting. Clearly there's patterns and consistency in the law - even in civil law countries - but this does not mean that cases are a primary source of law like they are in common law countries).
2. 'Retspraksis' translates as 'jurisprudence' and my friend Trine (who is Danish) backs up this translation. Jurisprudence at uni is called 'legal theory' these days... it's mostly for academic purposes (e.g. studying theories about how the law should be applied).
Denmark is a civil law country, and this is a fact you cannot refute (it's common knowledge and I've backed it up despite the fact any lawyer will simply know it without need for argument).
Tell me what your understanding is about the difference between civil law countries and common law countries. Do a web search, tell me in your words, what is the difference?
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It will be hard for folks in Common law countries, where the Judge's rule is final, to understand.
America's judicial system is probably the worst of any Common law country though, as the Supreme Court can dictate the country. Whereas, high courts in other more modern and advanced English countries get to pass matters back to the Parliament, for discussion.
The elected leaders then get to vote on an issue brought to a court, where a high court cannot apply existing laws. They don't just leave it up to a group of judges to do as they feel fit like America does.
I disagree... in Australia (where I live) there is res judicata. A decision of the High Court (in its appellant jurisdiction) is final and becomes law. This may then influence how future legislation is drafted, however, one cannot be judged on something that was not law at the time when they acted.
It's called 'judicial activism' when the High Court 'creates' law through its interpretation. Mabo is a high-profile case. Too long to summarise but in essence an indigenous Australian proved that he had an uninterrupted native title to an area of land where his people lived. The High Court held that land could only be colonised in 3 ways and the British reasoning of 'terra nullius' was false because indigenous Australians lived on the land.
In Mabo, Australia didn't have any statute about native title so the High Court had to review the existing law and decide what the status of their title was. They held that it was valid (which was the first time this had been done). Australia's founding fathers are quoted as saying that indigenous Australians are an 'inferior race' that would not survive. This was racist, colonial rubbish that proved to be wrong. The law makers never thought about this happening so the High Court had to fill the gaps.
After Mabo, statute was enacted that defined the boundaries of native title. This is quite normal, but can't change an existing decision. Once there's res judicata, you can't change the law by adding a new law. So... if you find a loophole, it can't be 'patched' specifically to mess you over (when you were following the laws of the time).
I guess this is where we get back to civil law countries like Denmark. Civil law countries have what's called a 'civil code' and that is THE law. As I'm trying to explain to our fact-resistent comrade, there's no 'precedents' in common law countries and cases are judged on a case-by-case basis.
Where my comrade's confusion lies is that he's saying 'yeah but Denmark's not like France where they just give a decision and no explanation... so it's kinda like common law countries where reasoning is given'. This is true, and countries like Denmark tend to publish their reasoning, which is called 'jurisprudence constante'. Our friend is confusing jurisprudence constante with precedent, which is incorrect. Yes judges in Denmark publish their reasoning in great detail (unlike French judges) and this is discussed heavily by lawyers who wish to find patterns of reasoning. It may even feel like a 'precedent' when the same reasoning is used over and over. However, it is not to be confused with a 'precedent' (which is a primary source of law). Jurisprudence constante is subordinate to Denmark's civil code, and Danish judges are not allowed to 'create law'. Although, they are more open about their reasoning than some other civil law countries.
In common law countries (e.g. the USA, GB, Australia, NZ, Canada...etc) it is completely different. Res judicata is a primary source of law and the lower courts must all follow it (or it will be appealed on the basis that they didn't rule consistently with a higher couet). In Denmark, saying 'your decision was different from another decision' will NOT cut the mustard for an appeal - it's simply not a valid line of reasoning.