Abstract
In the context of comparative legal research projects aiming at the creation of the Common Frame of Reference it has been argued that it is a flaw in the functional method that it is unable to lead to the ‘best solutions’. This paper argues that the problem belongs to the phase of evaluation of a comparative legal research project and needs an answer from within that context. It further argues that it is correct to say that the functional method is not able to identify the ‘best solutions’, but that it is not its purpose to do so. Rather, its purpose is to identify those objects in the selected legal systems that can usefully be compared. This paper suggests that the functional method should be considered a useful tool in the comparative legal research projects aiming at the creation of the Common Frame of Reference and that what is needed is a set of unequivocal evaluation criteria by which best solutions can be individuated.
© Walter de Gruyter
