Economic valuation of civil law

by Jean-Marc Baïssus, CEO, Fondation pour droit continental

 Perhaps because they have a relationship to money which is marked by profound cultural references, companies operating in civil law systems seem to have lagged behind the

 Anglo-American law countries as regards the economic valuation of the law. Stated otherwise, whereas in the English-speaking world there has long been talk of a “market” or even of an '“industry” for legal services, these terms often encounter a strong resistance in civil law countries. This reticence can be explained by the justified refusal of a mercantile vision of the law.

The difficulty that ensues is that jurists find it difficult to speak the language of economic and political decision-makers who are, in turn, accustomed to making their decisions on the basis of numeric data. For lack of numebers, for instance to state that civil law is less costly or more certain remains a non-established affirmation, for lack of numbers. Consequently, jurists at times have difficulties in making themselves understood. The “Doing Business” reports of the World Bank at least know to highlight the strength of numbers in the debate over the choice of the applicable law.

On the strength of that finding, the partners of the Fondation pour le droit continental have launched several initiatives so as to contribute to the discussion of the economic valuation of the law. A global index of legal certainty is currently under preparation, so as to offer a comparative analysis of legal systems that is intended to assist companies to measure the level of confidence that may be had in a given country’s law. In addition, other studies aim at measuring the impact of legal services within GDP. This is not to suggest the substitution of a  commercial mind-set to the service of  the Rule of Law, but  to highlight the activities of civil law jurists, to supplement their substantive argument on the merits by demonstrating that they perform equally from the economic standpoint.