ABSTRACT
This chapter is to put the comparative discussion that is to follow into context. Even at the cost of anticipating some of the discussion to come, it is necessary to give the reader an introduction to the relevant parts of German law. Only in this way can the comparative analysis work efficiently. The first part of this chapter will give a short historical introduction. To understand the modern German law, one has to be aware of the historical background. Without this, it would be quite difficult to understand German legal style and technique – so much of it can only be explained historically. The second part of the chapter will consider the nature of codifications in general and of the German civil code in particular. For the purposes of this book, it is important to appreciate that there are fundamental differences in legal style between the civil law and the common law, which can cause significant problems if concepts from one system are transplanted into the other. The concluding two parts of the chapter will give short and necessarily superficial introductions to the two areas of law this book is mainly concerned with: the laws of contract and unjust enrichment.1
