Concept of Law from a Transnational Perspective

This book brings together the fruits of different traditions in legal philosophy and draws on them to develop a systematic thesis on the concept of law. The work uses a legal model to explore the underlying question of how the current phenomena of transnational law are best understood, in combination with an examination of the traditions of Jürgen Habermas's critical theory and H.L.A. Hart's analytic jurisprudence. This leads the author to conclude that the key to a fruitful dialogue and comprehensive understanding is to appreciate that the concept of law is not state-cantered and must reflect relationships to other legal systems. Introduction; Part I Habermas’s Understanding of Law; Chapter 1 Law in the Theory of Communicative Action; Chapter 2 Law in Between Facts and Norms; Chapter 3 Law in the Postnational Constellation; Part II Hart’s Concept of Law Reconsidered; Chapter 4 Situating the Debate Between Habermas and Hart; Chapter 5 Primary Rules of Obligation; Chapter 6 Establishing Institutions; Chapter 7 The Variety of Legal Systems; Chapter 8 Relations Between Legal Systems; Part III Law in a Transnational Perspective; Chapter 9 The Quest for Normative Foundations; Chapter 10 Conceiving General Jurisprudence;