We quantitatively analyze the use of legal authorities  (cases, statutes, legal literature) in eighty representative opinions  of the English and German apex courts in contract cases in the  years 1880-1889 and 2007-2016. We find differences only in  degree not kind even in the 1880s, yet no subsequent  convergence. Most opinions of the Reichsgericht already cited  precedent in the 1880s, albeit less than the House of Lords,  which in turn cited fewer statutes. By the 2000s, the German  judges cited precedent as frequently as the English. However, the  Germans did and do engage less closely with precedent than the  English. Moreover, a new gap has developed with respect to the  use of scholarly literature, which only the Bundesgerichtshof  engages extensively.

Co-Authors: Jasper Kunstreich, Holger Spamann, Stefan Vogenauer

Time & Location

23 January 2024 | 6:00–7:30 p.m.
In-person & online
Law School | Boltzmannstraße 3 | Room 4404
Join via fuels.berlin/webex