Neil D. MacCormick made outstanding contributions to the understanding of law and democracy under conditions of pluralism. His institutional theory of law has compellingly elucidated the close connection between the normative character of law as a means of social integration and legal social practices. This has contributed not only to synthetise some of the key insights of the legal theories of Kelsen, Hart and Dworkin, but has broken new ground by undermining the 'monolithic' and 'nation-state' centered character of standard legal theories, leading the new emphasis on the argumentative...