Legal Systems in Distress: HIV-contaminated Blood, Path Dependency and Legal Change

Ugo Mattei, Hastings College of the Law; Univ. of Turin, Italy

Abstract

This comparative law and economics essay aims to introduce the economic notion of "path dependency" as a tool for comparing legal systems, and further seeks to take a step forward in our understanding of legal change. It discusses the reaction of a number of legal systems (including Italy, France, the U.S. and Japan) to the HIV contamination crisis, arguing that each system follows a pre-established, relatively predictable, path determined by cultural imbeddedness.