Juristische Methodenlehre

by Reinhold Zippelius

Paperback

Published July 11, 2012

About the author

Reinhold Zippelius (born 19 May 1928) is a German jurist and law scholar. Now retired, he was formerly the professor of the Philosophy of law and Public law at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
His academic research is centred on constitutional law, theory of the state, along with legal philosophy and method.
The "critical rationalism" provides the theoretical base for Zippelius' concept of law. According to Zippelius, law does not consist of "abstract" norms which are loosened from life, but it is "law in action", which is procreated by human action and thereby transformed into the reality of the contemporary culture.
In terms of legal theory, his themes include solving legal problems with the assistance of key concepts, comparison of cases and the question of what counts as "right", especially as regards the validity of unfair laws.
In terms of theory of the state, his themes include the legitimation and cultivation of democracy, especially regarding the rule of law, and the oligarchic components of pluralistic democracy, furthermore the federalism (the limitation of authorities, the functioning and the democratic ambiguity of federalism) and the problems of the bureaucracy.