Legal Theory
Legal theory encompasses the systematic study of law’s nature, structure, and functions, including analytical jurisprudence, normative theories of law, and interpretive approaches. It examines theories of legal reasoning, statutory interpretation, constitutional interpretation, and the relationship between law and society. This category complements legal philosophy with a focus on doctrinal and methodological questions.
Chinese Legal Theory
Classical Chinese Legal Thought Chinese legal theory draws on two foundational and competing traditions: Legalism (Fajia) and Confucianism (Rujia). The Legalist school, associated with Shang Yang, Han …
EU Legal Theory
The Supranational Legal Order The European Union’s legal order is sui generis — a novel legal phenomenon that resists classification within traditional categories of international or domestic …
French Legal Theory
The School of Exegesis The École de l’exégèse dominated French legal thought throughout the nineteenth century, reflecting the confidence in codified law that followed the Napoleonic …
German Legal Theory
The Historical School and Pandectism German legal theory in the nineteenth century was dominated by the historical school of law, whose leading figure was Friedrich Carl von Savigny. In response to …
Russian Legal Theory
Soviet Legal Theory The development of Soviet legal theory was marked by profound ideological struggles over the nature and function of law under socialism. Evgeny Pashukanis, the most original …
UK Legal Theory
The Common Law Tradition and the Declaratory Theory English legal theory is rooted in the common law tradition and the declaratory theory of law, which holds that judges do not make law but merely …
US Legal Theory
American Legal Realism American legal realism emerged in the early twentieth century as a reaction against Langdellian formalism, which treated law as a closed system of logical deductions from fixed …