Foreword: Martin Loughlin

1. The concept of legal order

2. The plurality of legal orders and their relationships

Afterword: Mariano Croce

First published in 1917, with a second edition in 1948, this is the first English translation of Santi Romano's classic work, The Legal Order. The focus is on the notion of institution, which Romano considers the core and distinguishing feature of law. The Legal Order offers precious insights for a thorough rethinking of state-based models of law.

Santi Romano (1875-1947) was one of the key figures of Italian legal scholarship in the twentieth century. He was professor of Public Law in many prestigious Italian universities and was the President of the Italian Council of State, the highest legal-administrative body ensuring the legality of public administration.

Mariano Croce is Assistant Professor of Political Philosophy at Sapienza - Università di Roma, Italy. His research includes theory of the state, legal and political institutionalism, legal pluralism and LGBTQIA studies. Among his books are The Legal Theory of Carl Schmitt (Routledge, 2013, with A. Salvatore) and Undoing Ties: Political Philosophy at the Waning of the State (Bloomsbury Academic, 2015, with A. Salvatore).