This volume The Maastricht Collection is based on the Maastricht Law Faculty’s expertise in teaching European international and comparative law The Maastricht Collection comprises a selection of legal instruments and provisions which have proven to be particularly relevant and useful to students and practitioners of European and comparative law It includes codes and statutory law from France Germany the Netherlands and the United Kingdom international treaties as well as legal instruments of the European Union In addition selected sources from the United States are provided The main content is divided into chapters corresponding to different areas of law such as constitutional law criminal law and private law This third edition constitutes an update and revision to the second edition The provisions in this volume are reproduced in the original English or in the authentic English version where applicable or they are freshly translated under critical editorship Many existing translations of written law including officious translations available on government websites are not faithful enough to the original They often seek to turn old fashioned or ambiguous original texts into modern and elegant English Or instead of translating they seek to explain how certain terms or formulations are interpreted in practice The Maastricht Collection remains as much as possible true to the content style and syntax of the original allowing the reader to appreciate not only the substance but also the authentic form of legal sources
