The text of a lecture given in Jan 1965 at the Center for Juridical Studies of the U of Leiden. The sociol of law is defined as 'an empirical sci which can uncover facts & connections between facts.' It should be distinguished from the pol of law, which is concerned with the practical effects of such knowledge. The teleological & sociol'al interpretations of law should be kept apart to prevent confusion. The 3 most important currents of the sociol of law are examined: (1) the historical Sch of E. Ehrlich (GRUNDLEGUNG DER RECHTSSOZIOLOGIE, 1913); (2) the US realistic jurisprudence (R. Pound, K. N. Llewellyn, B. Cardozo, Stone, J. Dewey, Cohen, etc); & (3) the Scandinavian realism (K. Olivecrona, A. Hagerstrom, Lundstedt & V. Aubert). The historical Sch, represented in the Netherlands by Hamaker & Hijmans, is critical & speculative. It views law as 'decision norms' for gov officials. The US realists clearly distinguish between 'dogmatic, systematic sci of law' & 'empirical sci of law' as '2 separate sci'fic disciplines.' In the Netherlands, W. F. Wertheim showed that 'consciously or unconsciously, the causal effects of the law are identified with the content of the norm.' The section on Scandinavia is wholly devoted to the work of the Norwegian jurist Vilhelm Aubert whose outlook is summarized by a quotation: 'What is most signif about law, from the point of view of sociol, is not that legislators & judges are human, group-oriented, class-directed or even irrational.... The real signif of law to the sociol'st is to be found less in deviations from formal patterns than in the law itself. The legal profession applies a structured style of thinking, conceptualization, & decision-making to the solution of particular tasks.... A fruitful starting point for a systematic study of the sociol of law would be to ask ... what are the sociol'al characteristics of the applied theory of legal thinging.' I. Langnas.
