In this volume, Niklas Luhmann, the leading exponent of systems theory, explores its implications for our understanding of law. The volume provides a rigorous application to law of a theory that offers profound insights into the relationships between law and other aspects of contemporary society, including politics, the economy, the media, education, and religion.

Prior to his death in 1998, Niklas Luhammn was Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Bielefeld University.

• Preface


• Introduction


• 1: The Location of Legal Theory


• 2: The Operative Closure of the Legal System


• 3: The Function of Law


• 4: Coding and Programming


• 5: Justice: a Formula for Contingency


• 6: The Evolution of Law


• 7: The Position of Courts in the Legal System


• 8: Legal Argumentation


• 9: Politics and Law


• 10: Structural Couplings


• 11: The Self-description of the Legal System


• 12: Society and its Law


• Index