The Time Dimension in Comparative Research

Metodi e ragioni della comparazione verticale con particolare riferimento al diritto pubblico This chapter explains that the comparison of legal phenomena has always implied, alongside a synchronic and spatial juxtaposition, a certain relevance of the time factor. Here, the comparative method sought to develop a more complex and multi-faceted interpretation of the law, free from the constraints of national borders and sovereign states. It intended to reveal complexity, and to draw different legal experiences closer together. In so doing, it necessarily embraced the dimension of change and diversity. The comparative method and the historical method are thus rarely seen as antithetical; more often than not, the two approaches are jointly applied in an investigation that seeks to combine the synchronic and diachronic perspectives. The chapter reveals, however, that the dialogue between history and comparison was far from straightforward. At no time was the diachronic perspective pre-eminent, or capable of absorbing and guiding the comparative study. It rather limited itself to playing an essentially secondary, subservient role.