Book Reviews Jackson, B.S., and D. McGoldrick, Legal Visions of the New Europe. Essays Celebrating the Centenary of the Faculty of Law, University of Liverpool, London, Dordrecht, Boston: Graham & Trotman, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers (1993) viii + 348 pages + Indexes. 'The most profound truths are also the least familiar' says Francois Ost at the beginning of his contribution to this volume and lie is undoubtedly right, at least as far as the topic of this book is concerned. The current changes in the institutional shape of Europe are, to be sure. the subject of the closest scrutiny by scholars and others. However, academic practice has it that one is expected to focus on particular aspects of these changes according to one's area of specialization and almost never leave the confines of their respective disciplines and methodological paradigms. As a result, legal academics rarely have the chance to stand back from doctrinal questions of their respective fields in order to view these developments in a more synthetic or interdisciplinary way. Even more rarely do we see the results of this process of self-reflection in published form. Nevertheless, this is precisely what this volume sets out to do. It brings together various approaches to the current European developments, ranging from the history of law (B.S. Jackson) and the history of international confederations (I. Campbell), to the law of human rights (e.g. A. Garapon, N. Harris, S. Millns, P. Rowe), the Conference on Security and Cooperation (D. McGoldrick), the regulation or non-regulation of trade in the EC (D. Chalmers, G. Howells, M. Jones), the new challenges for legal education (R. Bakker) and the international politics of European integration (J. Verhoeven). These studies, authored by past and present members of' the University of Liverpool and by continental academics with links with it, focus both oil distinct areas and on wider perspectives. The result is a collection of essays that, when read together, provide a fruitful beginning for a broader appreciation of the various 'Legal Visions' of the new Europe and lead to a deeper understanding of current transformations. Moreover. these essays achieve their goal by maintaining their focus on the legal dimensions of these changes. They avoid, that is, the well known strategy of dispensing with complex normative questions by reducing them to the interplay of some social or historical forces, supposedly external to the legal process itself. The clear appreciation of the normative issues at stake and of the role that European legal culture plays in describing and answering these questions is what sets this collection apart from other, less successful, attempts at the same objective. No clear conclusion seems to emerge from this synthesis and this is perhaps the most important conclusion. The variety of methods and arguments seen) to be not just a matter of different legal culture,,, but also an integral part of systematic distinctions like those between public and private law, national and international law - and a necessary feature of the historical development of national legal systems. This variety sits uneasily with the optimistic view of the (often spoken as almost 'natural') harmonization of the different European legal systems. But this may not be always problematic. Why not maintain a plurality of solution for a plurality of problems in a plurality of social contexts? This book is a very welcome addition to the literature on comparative and international law and a significant contribution to the study of European laws and institutions. It is also fitting tribute to the hundred years of the Faculty of Law of the University of Liverpool. It is evidence to the very high quality of scholarship Pursued there. Pavlos Eleftheriadis Queen Mary and Westfield College London
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