An Overview on Different Legal Systems and the Reflection in Kosovo

Abstract

The state apparatus represents one of the fundamental elements of the development of contemporary society. While the right and law represents a basic understanding of the existence of the state power that performs in order to preserve a balance between the action which is accepted by society and other behaviors that by law are prohibited. The state actions principally are based on the rule of law, namely the legal system accepted or elected by people. Studying different legal systems, it shows that there are similarities more than the differences between them. Despite very different legal cultures, processing methods and institutions, different legal systems exhibit convergence in the treatment of different legal issues. As a result of these processes, many of the differences between common law and civil law now look more like nuances rather than as major differences. The differences are mostly pronounced in the styles of using legal argument, methodology, content and legal norms etc. Various legal systems, using different tools, aimed at the same purpose, and similar results are often taken from different justifications. Often it happens in practice that, despite the use of diverse tools and methods, they arrive at the same solutions or similar ones and it certainly that should not be surprising. So it can rightly be concluded that despite many changes, legal systems aim at achieving the same objective. While generally the target of the state is always and in any system the implementation of norms and rules set in advance, what the contemporary world tends to be considered as respect for the rule of law. In general, the objective of the state authorities in every system is the implementation of the norms and rules set in advance, that concept in the contemporary world tends to be considered as respect for the rule of law. Since Kosovo was part of the former Yugoslav federation and practically until the end of the war of 1999, in the absence of state sovereignty and subjectivity, people of Kosovo were not in a position to choose, like other sovereign nations which legal system will be applied on their lives. Without the will of the citizens, in Kosovo was applied a type of Continental legal system, with certain specific elements that were mostly common in other countries of former Eastern European Communist bloc. In the first years after liberation, until new legislation was passed through the legislative system, it was continued with the older system, through some minor changes. While at a later stage after the adoption of the new legislation, was introduced a large scale reform to the exciting system through the application of the combination of elements of Anglo-Saxon system, this reform which is to this day is in process as well.