Jean Nicolas Druey, Wirtschaftsrecht – leben und lehren, ZSR 120 [Bd. 142 der gesamten Folge] (2001), Heft 1, Halbband I, S.1 ff.
Druey Jean Nicolas – Wirtschaftsrecht – leben und lehren
Background
This essay is the written version of Jean Nicholas Druey’s farewell lecture, which was held at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) on 6 June 2000. It was published without amendments in the Journal for Swiss Law.
Summary
This essay is the written version of Jean Nicholas Druey’s farewell lecture, which he held at the University of St. Gallen on 6 June 2000. It was published, without changes, in the Journal for Swiss Law.
Prof. Dr. Jean Nicolas Druey describes the interesting relationship between law and economics. As the title (“Economic Law – Living and Teaching It”) already suggests, he also refers to experiences from his own life. A further reference to the title, and thus his close connection to economic law, is contained in the chosen wording; for e.g., at time he speaks of “we”.
The essay deals with various aspects of how economic law is moving between economics and law. According to Prof. Druey, economic law not only encompasses guiding measures but also the institutions that govern economic processes. He sees the economy as a client whose needs should be fulfilled by the jurists. For Prof. Druey, the latter encompasses the economic scope of application and not only the purpose of shaping the economy.
In order to bring economics and law together, economic and legal knowledge need to be organized. This presumes that one knows the different characteristics of legal and economic thinking. Three characteristics of legal thinking are discussed in more detail: First, he makes the observation that law, as opposed to economics, is reactive and chasing the facts. A further important characteristic of law is that while it strives to capture economic needs as smoothly as possible, it remains critical of those same interests. The third characteristic is law’s tendency to grow rampant – a tendency associated with the keywords “Reglementiererei” and “Gesetzesflut” (respectively, a multitude of regulations and a flood of laws). Prof. Druey concludes this section as follows: “Sie (Wirtschaft und Recht) sind und bleiben getrennt, aber sie sind einander zugewandt und kommunizieren miteinander.” (Economics and law are separate and they will stay that way, but they are also related to one another and they communicate with each other.) (S.7)
The final section of this essay deals with the education of jurists that work in the economy. Once again, Prof. Druey refers to anecdotes from his own life –in particular, his time as a law professor at HSG.