legal system a mixed system. The reverse is also true. What would be a 'mixed public law? Would it be a cross between the french and the american or the german and the Irish? Would it be mixed in substance or structure, or way of thinking? After a brief consideration of the notion of mixed legal systems, this paper approaches subject both as public law in 'and ' mixing systems and public law as a mixing mixed' system, that is the 'mixte of public law. The first is mainly the outcome of transposition, the second mainly of cross-fertilisation 2. Mixed legal systems Mixed legal systems come into being as a result of the transmigration of legal ideas institutions, concepts and structures under various types of pressure, internal or external Mixed legal systems in the classical sense, named generally mixed jurisdictions, may be a thing of the past reflected only in historical examples such as Quebec, Louisiana, South Africa and Scotland. Yet, some of these old 'mixed jurisdictions, such as South Africa and Scotland, are also facing new challenges, shifting and forming new mixes, the systems opening up to a new and diverse range of influences. In addition, many new mixes are developing and developing fast I have said elsewhere that attempting a comprehensive study and analysis of mixed systems is a dangerous and delicate task I There I used mixed systems' as the general term, ' mixed juris ictions' for specific types of systems historically designated as such, the term"mixture for mixes of the past which may or may not still exist in that form and the terms 'mix'or mixite' specifically for mixes in the making today. 2 Tetley defines a mixed legal system as one in which the law in force is derived from more than one legal trad ition or family,, and a mixed jurisd iction as 'a country or a political subdivision of a country in which a mixed legal system prevails.3 Milo and Smits state that the adjective 'mixed may mean many things a combination of various legal sources',a combination of more than one body of law within one nation, restricted to an area or to a culture, and the existence of different bodies of law applicable within the whole territory of a nation. The authors claim that today ' the law of all the member states of the european Community is mixed, since in a sense these have derived their law from Brussels as well E. Orucu, Mixed and Mixing Systems: A Conceptual Search, in E. Orucu, E. Attwooll &S. Coyle(eds ) Studies in Legal Systems: Mixed and Mixing, Kluwer Law Intemational, The Hague, London, 1996, 335-351 Also see W. Tetley, "Mixed Jurisdictions: Common Lawvs Civil Law(1999)IV Uniform Law Review 591-619,877-907, and J. McKnight, "Some Historical Observations on Mixed Systems of Law(1977)22 Juridical Review. 177 bEing prone to using culinary metaphors, I envisage this 'mix'asacake mix where the outcome is not truly nown until the cake is fully cooked, the chances of it being spoilt by under-or over-cooking always being a tEtley, op cit, supra n 1, 597 4M. Milo &J. Smits, "Trusts in Mixed Legal Systems: A Challenge to Comparative Trust Law'(2000)3 European Review of Private Law, 421, at423legal system a ‘mixed system’. The reverse is also true. What would be a ‘mixed’ public law? Would it be a cross between the French and the American, or the German and the Irish? Would it be mixed in substance or structure, or way of thinking? After a brief consideration of the notion of mixed legal systems, this paper approaches its subject both as public law in ‘mixed’ and ‘mixing’ systems and public law as a ‘mixing’ or ‘mixed’ system, that is the ‘mixité’ of public law. The first is mainly the outcome of transposition, the second mainly of cross-fertilisation. 2. Mixed legal systems Mixed legal systems come into being as a result of the transmigration of legal ideas, institutions, concepts and structures under various types of pressure, internal or external. Mixed legal systems in the classical sense, named generally ‘mixed jurisdictions’, may be a thing of the past reflected only in historical examples such as Quebec, Louisiana, South Africa and Scotland. Yet, some of these old ‘mixed jurisdictions’, such as South Africa and Scotland, are also facing new challenges, shifting and forming new mixes, the systems opening up to a new and diverse range of influences. In addition, many new mixes are developing and developing fast. I have said elsewhere that attempting a comprehensive study and analysis of mixed systems is a dangerous and delicate task.1 There I used ‘mixed systems’ as the general term, ‘mixed jurisdictions’ for specific types of systems historically designated as such, the term ‘mixture’ for mixes of the past which may or may not still exist in that form and the terms ‘mix’ or ‘mixité’ specifically for mixes in the making today.2 Tetley defines a mixed legal system as ‘one in which the law in force is derived from more than one legal tradition or family’, and a mixed jurisdiction as ‘a country or a political subdivision of a country in which a mixed legal system prevails’.3 Milo and Smits state that the adjective ‘mixed’ may mean many things: a ‘combination of various legal sources’, a ‘combination of more than one body of law within one nation, restricted to an area or to a culture’, and ‘the existence of different bodies of law applicable within the whole territory of a nation’.4 The authors claim that today, ‘the law of all the member states of the European Community is mixed, since in a sense these have derived their law from Brussels as well’.5 1E. Örücü, ‘Mixed and Mixing Systems: A Conceptual Search’, in E.Örücü, E. Attwooll & S. Coyle (eds.), Studies in Legal Systems: Mixed and Mixing, Kluwer Law International, The Hague, London, 1996, 335-351. Also see W. Tetley, ‘Mixed Jurisdictions: Common Law vs Civil Law’ (1999) IV Uniform Law Review, 591-619, 877-907, and J. McKnight, ‘Some Historical Observations on Mixed Systems of Law’ (1977) 22 Juridical Review, 177. 2Being prone to using culinary metaphors, I envisage this ‘mix’ as a ‘cake mix’ where the outcome is not truly known until the cake is fully cooked, the chances of it being spoilt by under- or over-cooking always being a possibility. 3Tetley, op. cit., supra n. 1, 597. 4M. Milo & J. Smits, ‘Trusts in Mixed Legal Systems: A Challenge to Comparative Trust Law’ (2000) 3 European Review of Private Law, 421, at 423. 5 Ibid