In the legal theory, reception is chiefly defined as the transfer of a legal phenomenon 'of a different legal culture', other area or other period of time 'to a new legal climate'.
According to Max Rheinstein term "reception" should preferably be preserved to those situations in which legal phenomena of one legal climate are consciously and willingly adopted into another legal system.
Where there is an apparent need for a change of legal system in one culture and another existing culture provides an opportunity to satisfy the need
Veneration reception is one example which occurs if alien norms, institutes or a whole system is adopted for their venerated position and prestige of cultural background.
If a legal phenomenon is imposed upon another nation by force, this is referred to as imposed legal reception, in few instances under certain conditions imposed reception may transform into a voluntary process and thus become genuine reception but usually imposed legal phenomenon would not be considered genuine legal reception.
Is a process whereby a legal phenomenon transfers to another geographic area or culture together with people. A situation where a norm of another legal culture is established in a different legal climate by enacting legislation regardless of its original implementation background may also be interpreted as a mere transplantation of a legal phenomenon. Transplantation also occurs where a legal theory is taken to another geographical area. As in the case of imposed reception or voluntary reception, an original transplantation may become true reception: of course not among the group or nation which is the carrier of transplantation but among the legal culture surrounding it in the new area. The transformation of transplantation into reception is perhaps of greater significance in the history of legal science than it is in positive law.
in which the spread of legal doctrines and theories plays an especially important role. It is quite clear that the spread of methods brings about the spread of their conceptual and systematic basis. In this regard, system not only refers to a certain classification of legal material, but an internally consistent and systematic approach to law.
In common law, the doctrine of reception (properly, reception of the common law of England in a colony) refers to the process in which the English law becomes applicable to a British Crown Colony, protectorate, or protected state.