Katja Funken "The Trend Towards Convergence S804151001 LA732 Comparative Legal Essay The best of both Worlds-The Trend Towards Convergence of the Civil Law and the Common Law System I Introduction Increasing commercial and cultural internationalisation and amalgamation have had and will continue to have their consequences in the law of all legal systems. In particular the two great Western legal traditions, the Common Law and the Civil Law system, have become closer to each other during the last decades This paper will analyse the impact, mechanisms and future developments of the convergence of the two systems. It is divided into seven parts After some introductory remarks on the distinction between Common law and civil Law systems, this paper will briefly contrast the pros and cons of convergence. The next section examines how some of the previously visible differences between Common Law and civil law systems have already been diminished or are about to decrease. The analysis will focus on the trend towards codification in many Common Law countries, the approaches towards the filling of gaps in statutory provisions, judicial activism, the doctrine of stare decisis and the roles of judges and legal scholars It then looks into the various mechanisms and factors that contribute to the process of convergence, such as the importance of American law, the unification of Europe and the unification of legal rules by means of conventions and model laws For this categorisation see Clark Ds, The Idea of the Civil Law Tradition, in Comparative and Private International Law, Essays in Honor of John Henry Merryman on His Seventieth Birthday 11 Clark ed.. Duncker humblot. Berlin 1991 at 21Katja Funken “The Trend Towards Convergence” S 804151001 LA732 Comparative Legal Essay 2 "The Best of Both Worlds" - The Trend Towards Convergence of the Civil Law and the Common Law System I. Introduction Increasing commercial and cultural internationalisation and amalgamation have had and will continue to have their consequences in the law of all legal systems. In particular the two great Western legal traditions, the Common Law and the Civil Law system1 , have become closer to each other during the last decades. This paper will analyse the impact, mechanisms and future developments of the convergence of the two systems. It is divided into seven parts. After some introductory remarks on the distinction between Common Law and Civil Law systems, this paper will briefly contrast the pros and cons of convergence. The next section examines how some of the previously visible differences between Common Law and Civil Law systems have already been diminished or are about to decrease. The analysis will focus on the trend towards codification in many Common Law countries, the approaches towards the filling of gaps in statutory provisions, judicial activism, the doctrine of stare decisis and the roles of judges and legal scholars. It then looks into the various mechanisms and factors that contribute to the process of convergence, such as the importance of American law, the unification of Europe and the unification of legal rules by means of conventions and model laws. 1 For this categorisation see Clark DS, 'The Idea of the Civil Law Tradition', in Comparative and Private International Law; Essays in Honor of John Henry Merryman on His Seventieth Birthday 11, Clark ed., Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, 1991 at 21