The invention of the European legal tradition and the narrative of rights

Abstract

Before the Second World War, the concept of Europe was a secondary moniker in a nationalistic world, which made the post-war rise of Europe and European legal heritage as concepts remarkable development. The idea of European integration was in part a post-war reaction to the ultranationalism touted by totalitarian regimes such as Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy. In a few years after the war, there emerged a new theory which argued that Roman law provided the foundation for a common European legal heritage, as well as a basis for future integration. This contribution explores the emergence of this idea and traces its history from the 1930s to the present, equally by scholars working in Europe and those who were exiled in the United States, arguing that with the rise of human rights instruments it created a foundation for the European narrative of rights that was a key part of the legitimation of European integration. This article demonstrates how these narratives of Roman law legitimated changing conceptions of European self-understanding and self-definition by engaging in a type of heritage discourse where the past was seen as a framework for the future.