The Public and the Private in Dispute Resolution. Reflections for a Comparative Dialogue on the “Public Values” of Adjudication*
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18800/derechopucp.202601.009Keywords:
Civil Procedure, Theory of Adjudication, Legal History, Comparative Law, LitigationAbstract
The purpose of this article is to analyze what is at stake when debating “the private” and “the public” in civil litigation. It does so by presenting, for an English-speaking audience, the Wach/Klein debate, which took place in Europe over the past century and centers on the so-called “social function” (Sozialfunktion) of adjudication, and briefly comparing it with contemporary discussions, especially in the U.S. Indeed, surprisingly, that debate has received minimal attention in the common law academic community. Nonetheless this article argues for, and seeks to show, the common ground of the political and theoretical issues raised.
The article is divided into two parts. The first part (sections 1-4) establishes the theoretical coordinates, referring especially to current U.S. discussions. The second part (sections 5–9) delves into the historical contrast between the procedural philosophy advanced by A. Wach, that is procedural liberalism, and F. Klein’s advocacy of the “social function” of civil legal processes, linking these ideologies to those outlined in the first part.
Overall, this contribution seeks to trace an arc across two distant legal traditions and epochs, uncovering some unexpected parallelisms between past and current civil procedural scholars, and connecting historical considerations with modern discourses on civil justice policies.
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