Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
ISTANBUL HUKUK MECMUASI, cilt.78, sa.1, ss.99-137, 2020 (ESCI)
This paper is divided into two parts. The first part of the study attempts to determine and explain the distinctive features of Scandinavian law. Scandinavian law, in the broad sense of the term, covers the laws of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. In this respect, the historical developments of the laws of these countries, legal sources, judge-made law, interpretation, legal reasoning, pragmatism and realism which mark Scandinavian laws as their peculiar features as well as legal education, legal career and judiciary are taken account of. The second part of the study is an attempt to locate Scandinavian law among the classifications of legal systems of the world. Based on the significant features determined in the first part of the study, the second part attempts to demonstrate the distinct position of Scandinavian law which renders it impossible to be subsumed under common law or civil law families. Against this background, the merits of legal families theories will be questioned and the question whether the classical legal families approach is sufficiently overarching to accommodate atypical legal systems such as Scandinavian law will be raised. Within the scope of this query, recent proposals to classify legal systems - most of which reject the 'law as rules' approach - will be examined and evaluated in terms of their appropriateness to cover such atypical systems.