Comparer, mesurer, classer : L’art périlleux de la leximétrie du licenciement

The article offers a discussion of employment protection indicators, based of an original framework scarcely used in the current literature: starting from the notion of functional equivalent provided by comparative lawyers, we analyze dismissal law in several countries through the lens of concrete situations and procedures rather than from those of legal formal provisions. The functional method allows to include in the empirical-legal analysis hugely important procedural schemes that characterize Common law in a distinctive manner as compared to civil law countries. We argue that leximetrics based on numerical index are certainly useful ranking devices; however they provide poor support to international comparisons.