Eugen Ehrlich
Encyclopedia
Eugen Ehrlich was an Austria
n legal scholar and sociologist of law.
He was born in Czernowitz (now Chernivtsi
in Ukraine
), which was at that time part of the Bukovina
, a province of the Austro-Hungarian empire
. Ehrlich studied law in Vienna, where he taught and practised as a lawyer before returning to Czernowitz to teach at the University there, a bastion of Germanic culture at the eastern edge of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He remained at the University for the rest of his teaching career and was Rector in 1906-7. During the turmoil of World War I, when Czernowitz was occupied several times by Russian forces, he moved to Switzerland. After the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the ceding of the Bukovina to Romania, Ehrlich planned to return to Czernowitz, where he would have been required to teach in Romanian, but he died of diabetes in Vienna in 1922.
The location and circumstances of his career were significant, as his experience of the Bukovina's legal culture, where Austrian law and sharply contrasting local custom seemed to co-exist, caused him to question the hierarchical notions of law propounded by such theorists as Hans Kelsen. Ehrlich is considered as one of the founders of the modern sociology of law
. He noted that earlier legal theories that recognize law as a sum of statutes and judgments gave an inadequate view of the legal reality of a community. He drew a distinction between norms of decision and social norms or norms of conduct. The latter actually govern the life in a society and can be regarded in popular consciousness, if not necessarily by lawyers, as law. For example, commercial usage and custom may develop and be recognized and respected by courts of law. The point Ehrlich sought to make was that the "living law" which regulates social life may be quite different from the norms for decision applied by courts. Norms for decision regulate only those disputes that are brought before a judicial or other tribunal. Living law is a framework for the routine structuring of social relationships. Its source is in the many different kinds of social associations in which people co-exist. Its essence is not dispute and litigation, but peace and co-operation. What counts as law depends on what kind of authority exists to give it legal significance among those it is supposed to regulate. Ehrlich's teaching is that the sources of law's authority are plural and insofar as some of those sources are political and others cultural they may conflict. Not all the norms of social associations should be thought of as 'law', in Ehrlich's view. Legal norms are distinguished from merely moral or customary ones by the powerful feelings of revulsion which typically attach to breach of them. They are, thus, regarded as socially fundamental. In addition, legal norms concern certain kinds of relationships, transactions and circumstances which he described as 'facts of the law' - specially important topics or considerations for social regulation.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n legal scholar and sociologist of law.
He was born in Czernowitz (now Chernivtsi
Chernivtsi
Chernivtsi is the administrative center of Chernivtsi Oblast in southwestern Ukraine. The city is situated on the upper course of the River Prut, a tributary of the Danube, in the northern part of the historic region of Bukovina, which is currently divided between Romania and Ukraine...
in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), which was at that time part of the Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
, a province of the Austro-Hungarian empire
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. Ehrlich studied law in Vienna, where he taught and practised as a lawyer before returning to Czernowitz to teach at the University there, a bastion of Germanic culture at the eastern edge of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He remained at the University for the rest of his teaching career and was Rector in 1906-7. During the turmoil of World War I, when Czernowitz was occupied several times by Russian forces, he moved to Switzerland. After the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the ceding of the Bukovina to Romania, Ehrlich planned to return to Czernowitz, where he would have been required to teach in Romanian, but he died of diabetes in Vienna in 1922.
The location and circumstances of his career were significant, as his experience of the Bukovina's legal culture, where Austrian law and sharply contrasting local custom seemed to co-exist, caused him to question the hierarchical notions of law propounded by such theorists as Hans Kelsen. Ehrlich is considered as one of the founders of the modern sociology of law
Sociology of law
The sociology of law is often described as a sub-discipline of sociology or an interdisciplinary approach within legal studies...
. He noted that earlier legal theories that recognize law as a sum of statutes and judgments gave an inadequate view of the legal reality of a community. He drew a distinction between norms of decision and social norms or norms of conduct. The latter actually govern the life in a society and can be regarded in popular consciousness, if not necessarily by lawyers, as law. For example, commercial usage and custom may develop and be recognized and respected by courts of law. The point Ehrlich sought to make was that the "living law" which regulates social life may be quite different from the norms for decision applied by courts. Norms for decision regulate only those disputes that are brought before a judicial or other tribunal. Living law is a framework for the routine structuring of social relationships. Its source is in the many different kinds of social associations in which people co-exist. Its essence is not dispute and litigation, but peace and co-operation. What counts as law depends on what kind of authority exists to give it legal significance among those it is supposed to regulate. Ehrlich's teaching is that the sources of law's authority are plural and insofar as some of those sources are political and others cultural they may conflict. Not all the norms of social associations should be thought of as 'law', in Ehrlich's view. Legal norms are distinguished from merely moral or customary ones by the powerful feelings of revulsion which typically attach to breach of them. They are, thus, regarded as socially fundamental. In addition, legal norms concern certain kinds of relationships, transactions and circumstances which he described as 'facts of the law' - specially important topics or considerations for social regulation.