Institutions of Law presents the definitive statement of Sir Neil MacCormick's celebrated 'institutional' theory of law, defining law as 'institutional normative order' and explaining each of these three terms in depth. It provides a fresh and engaging introduction to legal theory, ideal for students new to the subject.

The late Professor Sir Neil MacCormick was the Leverhulme Personal Research Professor and Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations, the University of Edinburgh.

• Preface


• Acknowledgements


• Part I: Norm, Institution and Order


• 1: On Normative Order


• 2: On Institutional Order


• 3: Law and the Constitutional State


• 4: A Problem: Rules or Habits?


• Part II: Legal Positions and Relations


• 5: On Persons


• 6: Wrongs and Duties


• 7: Rights and Obligations


• 8: Legal Relations and Things: Property


• 9: Legal Powers and Validity


• Part III: Law State and Civil Society


• 10: Powers and Public Law: Law and Politics


• 11: Constraints on Power: Fundamental Rights


• 12: Criminal Law and Civil Society: Law and Morality


• 13: Private Law and Civil Society: Law and Economy


• Part IV: Law, Value and Method


• 14: Positive Law and Moral Autonomy


• 15: On Law and Justice


• 16: Laws and Values: Reflections on Method