The Functions Of Law

What is the nature of law and what is the best way to discover it? This book argues that law is best understood in terms of the social functions it performs wherever it is found in human society. In order to support this claim, law is explained as a kind of institution and as a kind of artefact. To say that it is an institution is to say that it is designed for creating and conferring special statuses to people so as to alter their rights and responsibilities toward each other. To say that it is an artefact is to say that it is a tool of human creation that is designed to signal its usability to people who interact with it. This picture of law's nature is marshalled to critique theories of law that see it mainly as a product of reason or morality, understanding those theories via their conceptions of law's function. It is also used to argue against those legal positivists who see law's functions as relatively minor aspects of its nature. This method of conceptualizing law's nature helps us to explain how the law, understood as social facts, can make normative demands upon us. It also recommends a methodology for understanding law that combines elements of conceptual analysis with empirical research for uncovering the purposes to which diverse peoples put their legal activities.

This book seeks to contribute to a legal positivist picture of law by defending two metaphysical claims about law and investigating their methodological implications. One claim is that the law is a kind of artifact, a thoroughgoing human creation for performing certain tasks or accomplishing certain goals. That is, artifacts are generally understood in terms of their functions. When discussing artifacts, the notion of function need not be as mysterious or problematic as might be the case with biological functions. The other claim is that the law is an institution, a specific kind of artifact that creates artificial roles which allow for the establishment and manipulation of rights and duties among those subject to the institution. The methodological implication of this picture of law is that it is best understood in terms of the social functions that it performs and that the job of the legal philosopher is to investigate those functions. This position is advanced against non-positivist theories of law that nonetheless rely upon notions of law's function, and is also advanced against positivist pictures that tend to de-emphasize or overlook the central role that function must play to understand the nature of law. One key implication of this picture is that it can help explain how law might give people reasons to act beyond its use of force to do.

Introduction to the English Legal System is the ideal foundation for those coming new to the study of law. Writing in a highly engaging and accessible style, Martin Partington introduces the purposes and functions of English law, the law-making process, and the machinery of justice, while also challenging assumptions and exploring current debates. Consolidating over 40 years' experience in the law, Martin Partington examines beliefs about the English legal system, and encourages students to question how far it meets the growing demands placed on it. Incorporating all the latest developments, this concise introduction brings law and the legal system to life. Digital formats and resources: This edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats, and is supported by online resources. - The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features, and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooks - The online resources include questions for reflection and discussion; self-test questions; a glossary; further reading materials; web links; and a link to Martin Partington's blog, which covers key developments in the English justice system.

The Function of Law in the International Community, first published in 1933, is one of the seminal works on international law. Its author, Sir Hersch Lauterpacht, is widely considered to be one of the great international lawyers of the 20th century. It continues to influence those studying and working in international law today. This republication once again makes this book available to scholars and students in the field. It features a new introduction by Professor Martti Koskenniemi, examining the world in which the Function of Law was originally published and the lasting legacy of this classic work.

Lauterpacht, H[ersch]. The Function of Law in the International Community. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1933. xxvi, 470 pp. Reprinted 2000 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 00-022124. ISBN 1-58477-090-2. Hardcover. * Lauterpacht disputes the widely held viewpoint in the international community that international law has inherent limitations and is incapable of unification, and presents his treatise in a well-researched technical format. "While on the surface Dr. Lauterpacht's study is an analysis of the judicial process, it embraces practically the whole philosophy of international law. However, it is less the scope than the manner of handling the subject which makes this book one of the most outstanding contributions to the science of international law." Francis Deak, Columbia Law Review 34:797. Marke, A Catalogue of the Law Collection at New York University 637.

A philosophical approach to American system of law.

This book addresses three major questions about law and legal systems: (1) What are the defining and organising forms of legal institutions, legal rules, interpretative methodologies, and other legal phenomena? (2) How does frontal and systematic focus on these forms advance understanding of such phenomena? (3) What credit should the functions of forms have when such phenomena serve policy and related purposes, rule of law values, and fundamental political values such as democracy, liberty, and justice? This book seeks to offer general answers to these questions and thus gives form in the law its due. The answers not only provide articulate conversancy with the subject but also reveal insights into the nature of law itself, the oldest and foremost problem in legal theory and allied subjects.