The new edition of Book 1 of Chitty on Contracts is out – I must admit it won’t be on my Christmas list.

There is a nice review at Informationoverlord.

As you might expect Mr Chitty has managed to pack much more into the latest edition, so volume 1 runs for 2261 pages (as opposed to a mere 1967 in the 29th edition) , whilst volume 2 runs to 1928 (1785 in the 29th Edition). I should say here, that even back in the day, Mr C was not short of a word or two as this 3rd Edition (often cited at the classic edition) attests to. Only one volume needed back then, but still a respectable 976 pages

The Book cover is still grey with a “knobbly, elephant-skin-like” feel (copyright Jaffne), but the nice racing green of Edition 29 has been ditched in favour of a kind of Red/Orange colour for the faux name plate in Edition 30.

Via John Bolch

Citation Patterns of the German Federal Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal of England and Wales
by
Mathias M. Siems
University of East Anglia, Norwich Law School; University of Cambridge, Centre for Business Research

Abstract:
This paper presents citation statistics on decisions of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales (CA) and the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) for the last 55 years. This data is used in order to identify whether the citation patterns of the CA and the BGH reflect the conventional comparative perceptions about the English and German legal system. For instance, it is addressed how often the CA and the BGH cite the highest national and European courts and higher foreign courts from different legal families. The paper also examines the cross-citations between the highest courts of the United Kingdom (House of Lords, Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland, Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary).

Keywords: Court of Appeal of England and Wales, German Federal Supreme Court, Bundesgerichtshof, citation patterns, foreign case law, constitutionalization, Europeanization, numerical comparative law

Actually, having a quick look at this 20-page PDF file, I was mystified by ‘citations to higher courts’. Apparently this is American usage for ‘references to’.

Via Legal History Blog

How often do people call the city Mumbai and how often Bombay?

The Media Guardian used Google Insights to show the relative use in ninety days by British web users – the use of Mumbai has greatly increased in the past days. There’s a breakdown by region and a map too.

Alexander Svensson at Wortfeld tried it out for Germany. The results are strikingly different from those in Britain.

The Guardian article also quotes the style guides of various newspapers and comments on their practice. It seems that Bollywood is not to become Mollywood.

Times Online is still using the word Bombay but it seems times are changing. A memo from a senior editor emailed to Times staff today and seen by MediaGuardian.co.uk reads:

“Key to policy at The Times on the usage of place names is that they are adjudged to be recognisable to a majority of our readers. After the events that started on Wednesday the name Mumbai has been used extensively in other media to which our core British readership is exposed.

“It would be foolish to ignore that context. We also have a global online audience to consider.

“We will be changing our style from December 1, so that we also use Mumbai for the city that we have previously referred to as Bombay. On occasion, it will be appropriate still to use a phrase such as ‘formerly known as Bombay’. In the meantime we will adopt a formula that talks of ‘Bombay, also known as Mumbai’.

“We will carry on considering place names, case by case, in a pragmatic way. So, in the Indian context, we will continue with Calcutta and Madras unless and until there appears to be an equally strong case for change. The linguistic heritage of what we will call Mumbai will live on in references to Bombay duck, Bombay gin and, of course, Bollywood.”

Sources of law described in German, some of them in English, for Denmark, the Faroes, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Nordisches Recht

Ulrike Verch
Frei zugängliche Rechtsinformationen in den nordischen Ländern
A. Einleitung
Während die bedeutenden Rechtsinformationsportale in Deutschland, beispielsweise Juris, nur einen kostenpflichtigen Zugang zu ihren Daten ermöglichen, dominieren in den nordischen Ländern für urheberrechtsfreie Texte staatliche, frei zugängliche Internet-angebote, deren Inhalte in der Regel weit über die Netzpräsenz unserer Parlamente und Ministerien hinausreichen. Die folgende Darstellung der wichtigsten kostenlosen Datenbanken zum Aufsuchen von Gesetzestexten, Urteilen, offiziellen Regierungsschriften und Forschungsliteratur zum nordischen Recht bietet einen ersten Überblick und erleichtert durch die Angabe der Internetadressen den Sucheinstieg.

(Via Handakte WebLAWg)

As usual, Transblawg does not close down for Thanksgiving, but if it did, I am sure I would be eating turkey.

Instead, let’s consider the presidential and gubernatorial turkey pardon.

Animal Blawg (Transcending Speciesism Since October 2008) considers the problem (with more links):

But I do have something to say about the Thanksgiving ritual, particularly the embedded legal contradiction in the practice (discussed by Luis below) of pardoning turkeys. To pardon means “to release (a person) from further punishment for a crime.” At Thanksgiving, however, the concept of the pardon gets up-ended. The turkeys supposedly petitioning for clemency have committed no wrong. Their lives consist of brutal mistreatment with slaughter soon to follow (the latter, I might add, will occur devoid of any of the protections of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act since under Department of Agriculture regulations, birds are not “animals” and thus not legally entitled to a merciful death). If anything, egregious crimes have been wrought upon these birds. Yet, every year, one or two are selected at random and “pardoned.” This ritual amounts to transferring the guilt of the perpetrators on to the victims and then forgiving a token few of them in a bizarre act of self-absolution by proxy.

I don’t know what the situation is in Germany, but I assume that birds are classified as animals, since Tier applies to them in everyday German. Animals are no longer things in the Civil Code, and since 2002 they have been protected to some extent under Article 20a of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz).

A turkey has been presented to the president of the USA every year since 1947, apparently. President Bush senior was apparently the first president of the USA to pardon a turkey. However, state governors can pardon turkeys too (see Lame Duck to Pardon Turkey) – for instance, the tradition goes back to 1949 in Alabama (where the turkey is always named Clyde). So it looks as if the White House took over a state tradition. The video of Sarah Palin after her pardon, with unpardoned turkeys being slaughtered in the background, is famous.

What happens to the turkeys pardoned by President Bush? See Where Do Turkeys Go After Being Pardoned by the President?

Liberty and Freedom were whisked off to Frying Pan Park’s Kidwell Farm in Herndon, Virginia—about 30 minutes west of Washington—where the pardoned turkeys live. Or die?
…
Those who visit Frying Pan Park will be disappointed to learn that there is not a flock of presidential “pardonees” to welcome the newcomers as they arrive in a large white van. With the enormous weight these birds carry, they usually die before the arrival of the next Thanksgiving. Farmer Todd Brown buries the turkeys on the 98-acre property.

I don’t know how old turkeys become if not stuffed for the table to a weight of 20 kilos or more. It sounds as if one Clyde (one of many in Alabama) might have lived a few years longer if he hadn’t been killed by a coyote.

Oh dear, all this doesn’t sound very holiday-like. I’d better go away and consider what I have to give thanks for (this includes a lot of work).

LATER NOTE: You could sell the leftovers.

Exhibition in Nuremberg on Dürer’s Praying Hands – one of a number of studies for an altar that has taken on a life of its own.

People from all over Germany filled in questionnaires. Where are your ‘Praying Hands’ now? From left to right: bedroom, living area, entrance area, workplace, not hung up, other.

Owners are from all groups, but older rather than younger, Protestant rather than Catholic, women rather than men.

A room of pictures of people with their picture, model, carpet, T-shirt or whatever:

To my shock, the 10-metre statue in Webb City, Missouri is only ‘one of the largest’ in the world. (parenthetical remarks) has been there too.