Although the gap separating the US and Europe has only recently so clearly come to the fore, it is anything but new. In fact, its roots lie deep in the past, in the genesis of Western civilization and the development of the idea of the law of nations. This ius commune or "common law" formed the core of the Western tradition of ordered liberty, of limited government and the rule of law. Over against this tradition developed a competitor, rooted in the original Roman-law idea of ius civile or "civil law," the law-order which in the wake of the French Revolution came to rule the nations of continental Europe. For the common-law tradition lost out on the Continent but lived on in the countries of the Anglo-American orbit. But even there, this common-law tradition came fundamentally to be compromised in the transition from a Christian to a secular society.

This divergence is now bearing fruit in the European power-play to establish universal jurisdiction on the basis of the civil-law tradition. But the opposition offered by the common-law tradition is weakened from the start by the shared basis in a false source of justice and law - human rights.

A thorough discussion of the genesis, progress, and current status of this state of affairs is available, for those with the courage to re-examine received and trusted opinions: A Common Law: the Law of Nations and Western Civilization. It is essential reading for those who wish not to keep being surprised by events.