Books by John (University of Cambridge) Bell

This study of the development of law uses tort law in Western Europe from 1850 to 2000 as an illustration. Involving comparative law and legal history, it engages with major current theories and uses evidence from the European Legal Development project as the basis for an original theory.

This work compares civil and common law systems using the French legal system as its basis. Focusing on the four main branches of French law: civil, criminal, administrative and constitutional law, the book examines the way that the judiciary, lawyers and academics operate within them.

An in-depth study, originally published in 2006, of the careers and roles of judges in France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and England, this book is based on original language materials and investigations of judges and judicial institutions in each country. On the basis of these detailed case studies, the book suggests factors that shape the character of the judiciary in different countries, focusing on issues such as women's careers and the relationship between judicial careers and politics. Bell's investigations offer lessons on issues which the English judiciary was having to confront in the period of reform at the time of this book's publication.