Epistemological Considerations in Private Law: Exploring Taxonomical Structures in the Common Law,Civil Law and beyond

Abstract

This paper aims to further the classification discourse by examining the importance and function of taxonomical structures in private law. The paper begins by considering the extent to which it is possible to develop, establish and maintain a classificatory scheme that constitutes a genuine reflection of the law and more generally, the value in searching for such coherence in law. The discourse developed within the paper is based on an assumption that there is a significant need for taxonomy, both within and beyond the boundaries of national law. This paper will introduce some of the issues which are of particular relevance at both the national level, through a consideration of taxonomy and classification in the development of the civil and the common legal traditions, and the transnational level, through an analysis of the attempts to develop legal taxonomy within the context of European private law (examining in particular, the Draft Common Frame of Reference).