This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Sahni, I.-P. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Max Weber's Sociology of Law

Judge as Mediator

University of New Brunswick, Canada, ips{at}unb.ca

The substantive underpinnings of Max Weber's `Sociology of Law' and the standing of judges therein are discussed. Foregrounding his conception of the administration of justice, perennial concern with the correlation between personality and the structure of domination, and account of legal rationalization, his discernment of the vital adjudicative role assumed by judges and the bearing of their personal qualifications is elucidated. The focus is placed on Weber's putatively negative assessment of the Common Law. Reading his appraisal of precedent and the charismatic stature of the judge in light of his theory of casuistry and critique of bureaucracy, it is shown that his examination implicitly extols the English administration of justice.

Key Words: administration of justice • casuistry • charisma • Common Law • England • formal and substantive law • judges • legal rationalization • Sociology of Law • Weber

Journal of Classical Sociology, Vol. 9, No. 2, 209-233 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1468795X09102123


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?