The Common Law Jurists And The English Law Transformation

The major part of existing english law and legal education has been molded innineteenth Century, especially at the end of the nineteenth Century. The English lawpresented here has finished its modernization whose performance is the Systematicand conceptualization. In this transformation process, Bentham, Austen, Maine,Maitland, Pollock are the representatives of the group of British law. They haddifferent understandings on the British law tradition, the civil law, the prospects forEnglish law development, but their works and words were promote the transition ofBritish law in different extents, they are" the fathers of modern English law"This paper attempts to show a overview of the British law's transition innineteenth Century, including the transformation way, push power and carrier. On thisbasis, I try to show a more concrete transition picture though the elaboration of theindividual. This individual is Pollock and his contribution to contract law system.The first chapter will present a general situation of the transition of the Britishjurisprudence in the nineteenth Century. Among them, the reform of the judicialsystem was to pave the way and clear the biggest obstacle for the transition. Judicialreform was divided into procedure reform and reform of the organization; theutilitarianism, analytical positivism, historical law and other law schools are the maindriving force of the legal transformation. According to their own understanding, theyare intended to break through the traditional British law system on the laws of England, and put forward their own opinions on the present and future of British law;law transition is mainly manifested in the writings of the traditional, and writingtradition aslo carries the meaning of jurisprudence transition. Therefore, writingtradition was the external performance and bearing form of British lawtransformation.In order to have deeper understanding of law transition process and innermeanings, the second chapter attempted to show the transition process through theaction of the main body of jurists. At the same time, in order to show a more concreteand vivid view, I choose Pollock as the representive. The first account is the Pollockera and classical education which manifested him with Vitoria times renewalcharacteristic; followed by the analysis of Pollock's multiple identities which recountsthe legal works, founder of modern magazines and law education diversitycontribution.The third chapter is to show Pollock's contribution in contract law as theexample of law transition. With the observation of contract theory the nineteenthCentury such as the freedom of contract, meaning theory,I try to show thegroundbreaking and advanced feature Pollock's" promise center theory" in the UKclassical contract law era.The last part of the dissertation is to repeat the view which Pollock represented anumber of Great Britains' outstanding contribution in the systematic process and thetheoretical conceptualization of British common law. The English law had look brandnew from them.