ON THE IMPORTANCE OF EUGEN EHRLICH'S THEORY OF LAW FOR CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
Keywords:
Eugen Ehlrich; Living law; Social Association; Constitutional Pluralism; Constitutional Hermeneutic.Abstract
The Ehrlichian concepts of "living law" and "association" can help constitutional law in the investigation of the relationship between constitution and pluralism. When Ehrlich describes the forces of society, which produce through their various associations a living law, he shows constitutional law the importance of law existing outside the State Law. The Constitution does not only regulate the State, but it also contains norms for society. Fundamental rights are binding standards for both the state and civil society. Thus, the current concept of Constitution makes the validity of law no longer in State law, but in the Constitution. In this way, the existence of a living law produced by the social associations finds its validity in the Constitution. The relation between constitutional law and sociology of law has in Ehrlich's work one of the most significant elements of connection. The opening of the Constitution to pluralism is not only a process that begins and ends in the interpretation of the constitutional text. Openness to pluralism implies the recognition of a law that exists in practice and moves society. Constitutional interpretation must be attentive to this law. The constitutional validity of the law brings the necessary limits that a sociological analysis of law often fails to observe. The pluralistic societies of the 21st century recognize the insufficiency of the legislated law as the sole and exclusive form of social regulation. New legal forms emerge and need to be contemplated by a theory of law open to the pluralism of legal sources.
References
Maliska, M. (1994). A Sociologia do Direito de Eugen Ehrlich. Uma contribuição ao Pluralismo Jurídico [The Sociology of Law by Eugen Ehrlich. A Contribution to Legal Pluralism]. In: Alter Ágora (nº 2). Florianópolis.
Rehbinder, M. (2008). Die politischen Schriften des Rechtssoziologen Eugen Ehrlich auf dem Hintergrund seines bewegten Lebens [The political writings of the sociologist Eugen Ehrlich on the background of his eventful life]. In. Das Recht und seine historischen Grundlagen. Festschrift für Elmar Wadle zum 70. Geburtstag. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot.
Maliska, M. (2015). Introdução à Sociologia do Direito de Eugen Ehrlich. Aportes para uma Reflexão Atual sobre Pluralismo e Constituição [Introduction to the Sociology of Law by Eugen Ehrlich. Contributions for a Current Reflection on Pluralism and Constitution]. 2ª ed. Curitiba: Juruá.
Ehrlich, E. (1989). Grundlegung der Soziologie des Rechts [Fundamental Principles of the Sociology of Law]. 4ª ed. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot.
Kelsen, H. (1915). Eine Grundlegung der Rechtssoziologie [A Foundation of the Sociology of Law]. In. Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik. Vol. 39. Tübingen: Mohr (Paul Siebeck).
Ehrlich, E. (1907). Die Tatsachen des Gewohnheitsrechts. Inaugurationsrede gehalten am 2. Dezember 1906 [The Facts of Customary Law. Inauguration Speech Held on 2 December 1906]. Leipzig e Viena: Franz Deuticke.
Ehrlich. E. (1925). Die juristische Logik [The Legal Logic] 2ª ed. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
Ehrlich. E. (1967) Die Erforschung des lebenden Rechts [The Investigation of the Living Law]. In. Recht und Leben. Gesammelte Schriften zur Rechtstatsachenforschung und zur Freirechtslehre. Edited by Manfred Rehbinder. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot.
Schiechtl, J. (2013). Aspekte des lebenden Rechts [Aspects of the Living Law]. In. Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Rechtstatsachenforschung. Innsbruck: Innsbruck University Press, Vol. 5.
Madaleno, R. (2015). Curso de Direito de Família [Family Law Course]. Rio de Janeiro: Forense.
Retrieved from http://www.ibdfam.org.br/noticias/4995/novosite on March 12, 2016.
