984 SEER, 82, 4, 2004 waysin which these conflictsmighthave been avoided,or could now be solved,orothersimilar conflicts couldbedefused. Inthemain,thecontributors sharea commonviewofthecharacteristics of thesetworegionswhichhelpexplainwhytheconflicts progressed astheydid andwhy thereis stillso muchunfinished business.Socialist-era institutions monopolized thepublicframework; informal andtraditional institutions were thereforeforced to develop as a networkof patronage and shadow structures. The corruption, criminality and dependency which characterized the latter were manifested in a series of new or reinvented public institutions. The perpetuation of a climate of fear in deliberately engineered weak states continues to reinforcethe 'marketof violence' (chaptertwelve). Each chapter, writtenby an acknowledgedexpert in theirfield, expands on an aspect of this theme. It is perhaps fortunate for the reader that many of these conflicts are 'frozen',as thereareindicationsthatmuch of the materialwas writtenin 200 I or 2002. But little has happened in the intervening period to invalidate its fundamentalthesis. To a reader seekingcurrenttreatmentof the disputesthe book will seem somewhat dated, but to those seeking explanations and signpostsfor futureuse this will be only a minor criticism.And it is here that the main worth of the book lies. The reason for its slow publication is not hard to seek. Multi-authored volumes taketime to assemble,particularlywhere the language of publication is not the contributors'firstlanguage. This volume's authorsarelargelydrawn from the German- and Russian-speakingacademic communities and it is a tribute to the editors' skill that the occasional infelicities of style are so unobtrusive. They are more than compensated for by the opportunityfor an English-language readership to be able to tap into these two other serious thought streamsso effortlessly. Readers of this review may alreadyhave a good knowledge of one or other of the areas of conflict addressed in the book; few will have a detailed knowledge of both. Most people can therefore expect to broaden their understanding of their own regional speciality by comparing it to similar experiences elsewhere,and yet may thinksuch a workcan shedlittlenew light on their own speciality.It would be easy to read this volume selectively,but I would urge a more comprehensiveperusal. My own reading of thisjudicious mix of theoryand case study,leavened with historyand eye-witnessaccounts, gave me freshinsightsinto the characterizationof thistype of violent conflict. Conflict Studies Research Centre ANNE C. ALDIS UKDefenceAcademy, Camberley Butler, William Elliott (ed., comp., trans.). RussianCompany and Commercial Legislation.Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, 2003. xxxvii + 88o pp. Notes. 1I 25.00. WERE it not priced for the practitioner market, this book would be worth buyingjust forProfessorButler'sintroductorysummary'On theDevelopment REVIEWS 985 of Russian Company and Commercial Legislation'. Here he clearly sets out the issueof what is meant by commerciallaw in the Russian context, followed by summaries of the General Provisions (registration of juridical persons, licensing, competition and antimonopoly legislation, insurance, the Land Code), Economic Societies and Partnerships(limited responsibilitysocieties, joint stock societies, people's enterprises, financial industrial groups, banks and banking activity, bankruptcy and insolvency, unitary enterprises, noncommercial organizations), Objects of Civil Rights (securities regulation, money laundering,pledge and mortgage, finance leasing, foreign investment, international arbitration), and a list over six sides long of the Individual Statuteson LicensingCertainTypes of Activity. The following 88o pages give legally accurate English translationsof the applicable laws on the topics specified. This is a goldmine of a resource for scholarand practitionerdealingwith the detailof the currentlegal framework of Russia'seconomic life. As a goldmine, this produces the ore; the legal texts, status juris I February 2003. Forthe refinementof understanding,one might turn to the companion volume text book publishedby OUP of Butler'sRussian Law,now in its second edition (2003), status juris IoJanuary 2003. There is a thirdmatching volume, of Butler's translation of the 'grandfatherlegislation', the Civil Code of the Russian Federation,status juris20 January 2003. Armed with all three, though somewhat lighter in the wallet, one would be in an excellent position to appreciate the stridesthat Russia has made, given her unique heritage, in her transitionto a marketeconomy. School ofLaw JANE HENDERSON King'sCollege London Proch'azka, Radoslav.Mission Accomplished. OnFounding ConstitutionalAdjudication in Central Europe. Central European University Press, Budapestand New York,2002. XXVii + 358 pp. Tables. Notes. Bibliography.Index. ?3I.00. EXEMPLARY of fine scholarship,this study of the establishmentand formative years of constitutionaladjudicationin the Visegradfour Poland, Hungary...