Law as a Social Institution

ISBN-13: 9781841132303 / Angielski / Twarda / 2001 / 144 str.

Hamish Ross

Opis

This book develops the rudiments of a sociological perspective on state law and legal theory. It outlines a distinctive approach to theoretical enquiry that offers an improved understanding of law as a social and institutional phenomenon. The book draws upon Max Weber's sociological and juristic writings as a context in which to explore themes arising or selectively developed from a critical reassessment of key aspects of H.L.A. Hart's theory of law. The discussion initially centers around three problematical areas or -Gordian Knots- - essentially weaknesses in the analytical nucleus of The Concept of Law, matters of misplaced emphasis and other elements that, it is argued, have obscured fundamental aspects of a perceived social reality. Using the critique as a point of departure, the book explores key issues that Hart merely touched upon or seemingly passed over: the role of the (sociologically inclined) jurist, the defensibility of an -institutional insider's- perspective, the institutional behavioral dimension of the legal world, and the relational and social power dynamics of law-affected human behavior.