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LAW REVIEW
[Vol. 53
indeed, it has been contended that this included the reception of Swiss
case law and doctrine as well. 60
In Japan of the late nineteenth century, comprehensive codes along
continental lines were also adopted. The process took considerably
longer than in Turkey, and there apparently was a very careful effort
at adaptation. However, the Penal Code was based on French law,
and the Civil and Commercial Codes were primarily German in inspiration,
though there also was some French and British influence. 67
In Ethiopia, an entirely different type of development took place.
No foreign body of law existed, nor were there ties to a particular
foreign country so strong that the adoption of that country's law
seemed natural. Those responsible for the development of the legal
system were determined that a body of law, distinctively Ethiopian in
character, would be fashioned. There was to be no "reception" of
foreign law as such. Instead, modern codes based on a variety of
comparative sources were to be created. 6 And as will be seen, although
the substantive codes followed continental models, Ethiopia
adopted the common-law approach to procedure. 69 In examining the
process, we are fortunate to have available some commentaries by
the drafters of the Civil and Penal Codes, detailing the factors that
influenced the drafting of those codes. 70
It may be asked why it was decided to adopt comprehensive codes
on the continental model instead of adopting the common law in the
same manner as did a country like Liberia, which also had been independent.
In the first place, there were not strong ties to a commonlaw
country, as in Liberia. Although it is true that after Liberation
66 See the discussion of this point in David, A Civil Code for Ethiopia: Considerations
on the Codification of the Civil Law in African Countries, 37 Tur.. L. REv.
187, 191 (1963). In any event, Swiss doctrine and case law sources are available
for the purpose of clarifying the Turkish law in those fields. See the discussion
of this point and the comparison with the situation in Ethiopia in Krzeczunowicz,
The Ethiopian Civil Code: Its Usefulness, Relation to Custom and Applicability,
7 J. Am. L. 172, 173 (1963).
67 See Takayanagi, supra note 15, at 15-33.
68 David, supra note 21, at 500.
3 9 As pointed out previously, the Constitution is similar to that of the United
States. This is true of a good deal of legislation in the public law field, such as
the Labor Relations Act. Japan, on the other hand, based its procedural law on
the same legal system as the corresponding substantive law. The Criminal Procedure
Code was based on the French one and employed the semi-inquisitorial
method. The Civil Procedure Code followed the German model. See Takayanagi,
supra note 15, at 18-21, 32-33.
70The original drafter of the Commercial Code, Professor Jean Escarra of the
University of Paris, died before completing the draft. The work was completed
by Professor Alfred Jauffret of the University of Aix-Idarseilles. No commentaries
are available.