By Daniel K. Benjamin According to Friedrich Hayek, the English
common law system reflects a conscious decision in favor of a
limited role for government; the French civil law system is much
more comfortable with a centralized and activist government.
Many nations, including the United States, base their legal
systems on the English common law tradition. Under this
tradition, the judiciary acts as a check on both the executive
and the legislative branches, limiting their ability to alter
property and contract rights. Free market environmentalists view
this feature of the common law as essential to the creation of
sound environmental policy. Three decades ago, Friedrich Hayek
argued that there is an even broader salutary effect of the
common law. According to Hayek, the English common law system
reflects a conscious decision in favor of a limited role for
government; the French civil law system is much more comfortable
with a centralized and activist government. For Hayek, this was
enough to favor the English