Fundamental Principles of the Sociology of Law

The innovative and revolutionary scholarship of the eminent Austrian legal theorist and professor of Roman law, Eugen Ehrlich (1862-1922), is of a very high caliber. His work has not only held its place well in view of what legal theory, especially sociological legal theory, has to offer, but is also still a powerful challenge to positions in legal theory that are no longer defensible. The sociology of law has followed in a direct line of succession from Ehrlich's observations and ideas as a new and special discipline linking jurisprudence with sociology.

Eugen Ehrlich (1862-1922) was an eminent Austrian legal theorist and professor of Roman law as well as the founder of the Institute (Seminar) for Living Law. He developed the concept of Freirecht (free finding of law), which influenced the contemporary discussion of legal thought in the United States and in Scandinavia Klaus A. Ziegert is head of the Department of Jurisprudence, University of Sydney and director of the Center for Asian and Pacific Law, Sydney, Australia