Ius Commune Lectures on European Private Law, I The lus Commune Lectures on European Private Law are published under the auspices of the lus Commune Research School. This Research School consists of the Law faculties directed towards research in the field of European Private Law and related subject Maastricht University, Utrecht University and the Catholic University of leuven, and Associated members of the School are the Law faculty of the Free University Amsterdam, the Law Faculty of the Universite de liege and individual members of the University of amsterdam 口sP SCOTS LAW AND THE ROAD TO THE NEW IUS COMMUNE Hector L. MacQueen! Readers are reminded that this work is protected by copyright. While they are free to use the ideas expressed in it, they may not copy, distribute or publish the work or part of it, in any source.Readers are permitted to make copies, electronically or prinmted, for person e form, printed, electronic or otherwise, except for reasonable quoting, clearly indicating lassroom use When a Scottish lawyer comes to Utrecht, he thinks at once of his eighteenth-century redecessor, James Boswell, the biographer of Dr Samuel Johnson. Boswell was in a gloomy Professor ofPrivate Law, University of Edinburgh. This paper was first presented in lectures at the Universities of Utrecht and Amsterdam on 27 October and 17 November 1997. In revised form it was subsequently presented at the Joint Study Institute of the American Association of Law Librarians, the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians and the Canadian Association of Law Librarians held in the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge on 6 September 1998. I am grateful to all those who attended these presentations for stimulating comment and questionsIus Commune Lectures on European Private Law, 1 The Ius Commune Lectures on European Private Law are published under the auspices of the Ius Commune Research School. This Research School consists of the Law Faculties of Maastricht University, Utrecht University and the Catholic University of Leuven, and is directed towards research in the field of European Private Law and related subjects. Associated members of the School are the Law Faculty of the Free University Amsterdam, the Law Faculty of the Université de Liège and individual members of the University of Amsterdam. SCOTS LAW AND THE ROAD TO THE NEW IUS COMMUNE Hector L. MacQueen1 Readers are reminded that this work is protected by copyright. While they are free to use the ideas expressed in it, they may not copy, distribute or publish the work or part of it, in any form, printed, electronic or otherwise, except for reasonable quoting, clearly indicating the source. Readers are permitted to make copies, electronically or printed, for personal and classroom use. When a Scottish lawyer comes to Utrecht, he thinks at once of his eighteenth-century predecessor, James Boswell, the biographer of Dr Samuel Johnson. Boswell was in a gloomy 1Professor of Private Law, University of Edinburgh. This paper was first presented in lectures at the Universities of Utrecht and Amsterdam on 27 October and 17 November 1997. In revised form it was subsequently presented at the Joint Study Institute of the American Association of Law Librarians, the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians and the Canadian Association of Law Librarians held in the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge on 6 September 1998. I am grateful to all those who attended these presentations for stimulating comment and questions