Der Rechtsbegriff des lebenden Rechts

Zugleich eine Besprechung von Eugen Ehrlich, Grundlegung der Soziologie des Rechts, 5. Aufl., neu bearbeitet von Manfred Rehbinder, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot 2022.

Abstract

Eugen Ehrlich’s “living law” is one of the key terms in legal sociology or legal anthropology research. As a cipher for non-state or non-sovereign law, the term has also had a steep international career in comparative, transnational or international legal studies today. In contrast, Ehrlich’s remarks on the distinction between legal and extra-legal norms are often dismissed as a “theory of feeling” about law. Ehrlich seems to have failed with the concept of law. Yet “living law” itself formulates a social concept of law. This article is devoted to this concept and its difficulties.