2. This opinion is usually expressed in more polite terms and rather orally than in writing. Nevertheless, one does hear regularly echoes of the following statement of Hessel E. Yntema, the Chief Editor of the American Journal of Comparative Law: ‘Don’t send articles about comparative law; get busy and do some comparing’, as cited with consent by Drion, J., Nederlands Juristenblad (1964) p. 279Google Scholar. See also Pintens, W., Inleiding tot de rechtsvergelijking [Introduction to Comparative Law] (Leuven, Universitaire Pers Leuven 1998) p. 87.Google Scholar

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4. Avoiding the comparison of objects that are not useful to compare (incomparable) in the given context.

5. U. Drobnig, ‘Methodenfragen der Rechtsvergleichung im Lichte der “International Encyclopedia of Comparative Law”’, in Caemmerer, E. von, Mentschikoff, S. and Zweigert, K. (hrsg.), Ius privatum gentium (Tübingen, Mohr 1969) p. 222.Google Scholar

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7. Ibid., p. 138.

8. Ibid., p. 87 and pp. 138–142.

9. Sacco, R., Introduzione al diritto comparato, 5th edn. (Torino, UTET 1992) p. 20Google Scholar: ‘E‘ possibile comparare qualsiasi sistema con qualsiasi altro sistema?’ In his well-known article ‘Legal Formants: A Dynamic Approach to Comparative Law’, 39 AJCL (1991) p. 6Google Scholar Sacco phrases this question as follows: ‘When the differences between systems are sufficiently great, can one still compare them?’

10. Zweigert, K. and Kötz, H., An Introduction to Comparative Law, translation Weir, T., 3rd rev. edn. (Oxford, Clarendon Press 1998) p. 42.Google Scholar

11. See also Constantinesco, L.-J., Traité de droit comparé, Tome II, La méthode comparative (Paris, Librairie générate de droit et de jurisprudence 1974) p. 39Google Scholar: ‘Les comparatistes avertissent, à juste litre, que la qualité scientifique de la comparaison exige qu’on n’embrasse pas trop d’ordres juridiques. La règle demeure toujours multum non multa. Mais c ‘est là un conseil de bon sens et nullement un obstacle de nature méthodologique.’

12. Zweigert, and Kotz, , op. cit., n. 10, at p. 41.Google Scholar

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14. Ibid., p. 507.

15. de Cruz, P., A Modern Approach to Comparative Law (Deventer, Kluwer 1993) pp. 36–37Google Scholar. Though, Kamba is not named explicitly here.

16. Two years later, De Cruz discussed this point more clearly. Kamba is now named explicitly. However, his main view remains the same. See de Cruz, P., Comparative Law in a Changing World (London, Cavendish 1995) pp. 217–219.Google Scholar

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18. Ibid., p. 94.

19. Ibid., p. 110.

20. Gorie, F., Bourgeois, G. and Bocken, H., Rechtsvergelijking [Comparative Law] (Gent, Story Recht 1985) pp. 19–21Google Scholar discuss – explicitly following Constantinesco – this subject in a similar way. They pay attention to the opinions on comparability of the legal systems (‘Het probleem van de vergelijkbaarheid der rechtsstelsels’), but do not take a clear position in this discussion. This way of discussing this subject strengthens even more the suggestion that not every legal system can be compared with every other legal system than the way in which Constantinesco treated it. In the second edition of their book (Gorle, F. et al. , Rechtsvergelijking (Gent, Story-Scientia 1991)) this subject matter is no longer discussed.Google Scholar

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26. Kokkini, et al. , op. cit. n. 6, at p. 87.Google Scholar

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29. Zweigert, , loc. cit. n. 22, at p. 196Google Scholar; Zweigert, and Kötz, , op. cit. n. 10, at p. 41.Google Scholar

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45. Also Kokkini mentions topic as well as the objective of the study. She seems, however, to stress the topic more (supra n. 32).

46. De Boer, 1992, loc. cit n. 27, at pp. 47–48Google Scholar. On the transferability of parts of legal systems to other legal systems see among others Watson, A., Legal Transplants: An Approach to Comparative Law (Edinburgh, Scottish Academic Press 1974)Google Scholar; Watson, A., ‘Legal Transplants and Law Reform’, 92 Law Quarterly Review (1976) pp. 79–84Google Scholar; Dijk, Van, op. cit. n. 31, at pp. 96–98Google Scholar; Grossfeld, B., The Strength and Weakness of Comparative Law (Clarendon Press, Oxford 1990)Google Scholar; B.R., Dorbeck-Jung, “The Conceptualization of Comparative Educational Law’, in de Groof, J., ed., The Legal Status of Teachers in Europe (Leuven, ACCO 1995) pp. 127–128Google Scholar; Watson, A., Legal Transplants and European Private Law (Maastricht, METRO 2000).Google Scholar

47. According to Van Dijk (op. cit. n. 31, at p. 80) the definition of the problem of the research and the objective of the research are closely connected.

48. Ibid., p. 87.

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73. ‘Das österreichische Allgemeine Bülrgerliche Gesetzbuch von 1811 ist das älteste Zivilgesetzbuch des deutschen Rechtskreises, das heute noch gilt. Trotzdem wirkt es in manchem moderner in der Betrachtungsweise und ist nicht selten origineller in seinen Lösungen der in alien Landern begegnenden Probleme als etwa das deutsche BGB oder auch das ebenfalls wesentlich jüngere Schweizer Zivilrech’ (Drexelius, op. cit. n. 72, at p. 25).

74. Providing an example to follow or to avoid.

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80. Strictly speaking, it would be better to use the term ‘intended applications’ of the knowledge obtained rather than the term ‘objective’, since the only objective of a comparative research project is to obtain knowledge and all other ‘objectives’ are in fact intended applications. However, since the term ‘objective’ is commonly used in both senses, I will use it to refer to both the direct objective of the comparison (to obtain knowledge) and the intended application of the knowledge obtained.

81. By tertium comparationis is meant a feature that two or more objects have in common. Most authors are of the opinion that to ascertain comparability in comparative law this feature must be the function of the objects to be compared. Some authors name ‘structure’ and ‘consequences’ as features that can constitute comparability as well. See Oderkerk, , op. cit. n. 68, at pp. 61–88, 233–239.Google Scholar

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83. In my opinion, the functions of the regulations under analysis do not always have to be equivalent. Only in cases in which the objective of the research project is law reform does the function of the regulations under analysis need to be equivalent. Of course, the majority of research projects will have this objective. There are, however, projects that will have objectives like the determination of the influence of ideology on the development of the function of a certain rule. In these cases, the function of the regulations need not to be equivalent; indeed it will be more interesting if the form of the regulations are equivalent but their functions differ.

84. Cf, Dijk, Van, op. cit. n. 31, at p. 82.Google Scholar

85. Drobnig, , op. cit. n. 5, at pp. 221–233. Cf, section 2.2.2.Google Scholar

86. Zweigert, and Kotz, , op. cit. n. 10, at p. 33.Google Scholar