Legal theory (which in nor m\' concern) has to recognize Lhe l.ast Best C^lhance for what it is, and somehow or another take account of its nature.'- XI rhis chapter ma\- seeni the least relcn ant for the emergence of a ius commune {or I'mrope. But it has serious implications for an understanding of law, and of its function in societw Law and its operation are nor always what they may seem. It is easy to misunderstand the problems of those in\ ()l\ ed with the law, with its respectability, and with political and social reality. .\nd this ine\ itably is more the case when we look at foreign law. d'hc issue has already arisen in chapter 4 on '.\uthority and Myth.' It will surprise many outside of the U.S..\.-and also many inside the U.S.A.-that the trial of O.J. Simpson for murder is actually an instance of the American criminal trial systern working as it is supposed to work, for any ius commune in kmrope, law-makers must be aware of parameters of thinking and of social problems elsewhere. Still, it will be suggested that the e.xamples of d'he Last Best Cdiance are so e.xtreme that thew cannot illuminate any issues in the deyelopment of a common law for the luiropean Union. The opposite is the truth. 'Lo outsiders (as we all are), the examples I haye adduced are so foreign that they thrust themseb es forward for explanation. ^et, in general, as will have been noticed, scholars haye taken recciurse in cheapening their approach: the participants in 'Lhe l.ast Best Cdiance were, the claim is made, nai\e or e\'en primitive, few students have made the attempt to try to understand the phe62 I need scarcely add that for understanding the nature of law I find comparative legal history much more valuable than abstract legal theory. 149
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