The processes of globalisation and multiculturalism have given rise to a movement of legal ideas that is constantly evolving.
The proximity of certain countries, which often share a common history, has inevitably led to the approximation of their respective systems, particularly through so-called legal transplants.
However, given the need to adapt each country's legislation to its recipients, its tradition and cultural roots, it is essential to contextualise it in the light of other sources of law and the unique reality of each human community.
In this way, despite the approximation of legal systems, whether through globalisation or the transposition of external influences, this reality has proved to be compatible with the preservation of tradition and customary law, particularly in African systems.
In fact, while the process of globalisation has been omnipresent, there is full awareness that it has been made compatible, shaped and conditioned by local contexts, customs and history.
To this extent, research into the way in which this compatibilisation has taken place over time, and especially more recently, is of great importance.
In this context, the annual meeting of the German-Portuguese Jurists' Association (Deutsch-Lusitanische Juristenvereinigung) was held in Lisbon on 16 and 17 September 2022, under the theme "Tradition and Globalisation", with the aim of bringing together thoughts, concepts and comparisons between Germany, Portugal, Brazil, Lusophone Africa and, indirectly, the African continent in general.
The Association of Luso-German Jurists is the leading association of German- and Portuguese-speaking jurists and aims to promote understanding of the legal culture of German and Portuguese-speaking countries, as well as interaction between them. In addition to Portugal and Germany, it includes Brazil, the Republic of Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe and Mozambique, and also plays an important role in territories where Portuguese law plays an important role, such as Goa, East Timor and Macau.
With this in mind, the importance of this Association as a partner in this project is unquestionable, given its aim of promoting scientific work on important issues for the countries in question, namely through the organisation of lectures, conferences and the publication of scientific articles.
In this way, given the importance of the papers presented at the aforementioned meeting of the Luso-German Jurists' Association, the publication of a collective work entitled "Tradition and Globalisation: African, Brazilian and European Experiences" is of great importance.
The book will be published through a partnership between Almedina and Nomos Publishing, as the aim is to publish it simultaneously in Portugal and Germany, ensuring its internationality. The co-coordinators are Professors Dário Moura Vicente, Stefan Grundmann, Christian Baldus and Catarina Salgado.