Law in Modern Society

Author: Denis Galligan
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199269785
Published In: September 2006
Format: Paperback , 396 pages
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

Out of stock

Description
Contents
Author

Details

Provides a succinct analysis of the main issues that arise in the relationship between law and society, thereby encouraging students to fully consider the role, and influence, of the legal system
Explores how the law affects modern society with reference to, and critical analysis of, the works of key legal and social theorists
An authoritative and original introduction to the study of law and society, written by a highly respected and leading academic in the field

Providing an introduction to law in modern society, D. J. Galligan considers how legal theory, and particularly H. L. A Hart's

The Concept of Law

, has developed the idea of law as a highly developed social system, which has a distinctive character and structure, and which shapes and influences people's behaviour.

The concept of law as a distinct social phenomenon is examined through reference to, and analysis of, the work of prominent legal and social theorists, in particular M. Weber, E. Durkheim, and N. Luhmann. Galligan's approach is guided by two main ideas: that the law is a social formation with its own character and features, and that at the same time it interacts with, and is affected by, other aspects of society. In analysing these two ideas, Galligan develops a general framework for law and society within which he considers various aspects including: the nature of social rules and the concept of law as a system of rules; whether law has particular social functions and how legal orders run in parallel; the place of coercion; the characteristic form of modern law and the social conditions that support it; implementation and compliance; and what happens when laws are used to change society.

Law in Modern Society

encourages legal scholars to consider the law as an expression of social relations, examining the connections and tensions between the positive law of modern society and the spontaneous relations they often try to direct or change.

Readership: Undergraduate and postgraduate students studying jurisprudence or legal philosophy as part of their law or sociology courses.

1: Setting the bounds of law in modern society
2: Approaches to law in society
3: Law as social rules
4: Law prior to rules
5: Law as a system of rules
6: Social spheres
7: The reception of law
8: Law and coercion
9: Legal pluralism: parallel legal orders
10: Extended legal pluralism: informal legal orders
11: Does law have social functions?
12: The social value of law
13: Forms of modern legal orders
14: Social foundations of modern legal form
15: Implementation and the architecture of law
16: Implementation: the legal and social environment
17: Change through the law: the contours of compliance