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............................................................................................................................DescriptionJournal of Law and Society"... a lengthy, systematic introduction to the sociology of law for both law and social science students . . . The book surveys the field, offers synthesis and comparison (where plausible) and suggests what is strong and weak in competing analyses. [The author] also indicates what more needs to be done... a careful and sound discussion of sociology of law and its development as a subject of study... clear, internally consistent and constructive ... All teachers of sociology of law - and even more so, their students - owe Roger Cotterrell a debt for providing this text.”Cotterrell: The Sociology of Law offers a distinctive view of contemporary taw in Western societies and provides a clear analytical framework for the study of the diverse literature relating to its field.This new edition has been enlarged and re-written to take account of recent theoretical literature, changes of emphasis in interpretation and new research on legal practice, dispute processing and law enforcement since the last edition appeared in 1984. Altogether, more than 170 new text references have been added, while the section on notes and further reading has been almost entirely rewritten.Internationally acclaimed, this fine book represents a systematic introduction to the whole range of major theory and empirical research in the sociology of law; as such, it is aimed at students of law and of social science in universities and polytechnics and presupposes no prior detailed knowledge of either discipline.............................................................................................................................ContentsIntroduction: Theory and Method in the Study of Law 1. The Social Basis of Law • Folkways and Mores • Law and Culture • Ehrlich's Polemic Against Legal Positivism • Law as the Framework of Social Life • Empirical Studies of the 'Living Law' • Mere Polemic? • The Problem of the Concept of Law 2. Law as an Instrument of Social Change • Modem Law and Modern State • Social Change • The Limits of Effective Legal Action • Making People Good Through Law? • Legislative Strategies for Promoting Social Change • Some Prerequisites for Effective Legislation • Limitations of 'Law and Social Change' Studies • A Note on Autopoiesis Theory 3. Law as an Integrative Mechanism • Function and Purpose in Law • A Law-centred Conception of Social Cohesion: Pound • Law and Solidarity in Modern Society: Durkheim • Universal Functions of Law?: Llewellyn • Social System and Social Structure: Parsons • The Autonomy of Law in Western Society • The Legal Profession and its Functions • The Legal System as a Sub-System of Society • Law and Equal Opportunity: An Empirical Test of Parsonian Theory • Functionalism as Social Theory • The Integrative Functions of Law 4. Law, Power and Ideology • The Consensus Constituency • Symbolic Functions of Law • Marx: Repressive and Ideological Functions of Law • Law, Class and Power • Law and Ideology • Legal Individualism • Law in Corporate Society • State and Individual • The Problem of Economic Determinism 5. The Acceptance and Legitimacy of Law • The Experience of Law: Positivist Approaches and KOL Studies• Legal Socialisation • Deterrence and Compliance with Law • Microsociological Approaches: Phenomenology, Ethnomethodology and Social Interaction • Instrumental Acceptance of Law: Max Weber • Legality and Legitimacy • The Meaning of the Rule of Law • The Transformations of Modern Law: Discretionary, Mechanical and Particularised Regulation • Sociological Explanations of Changes in the foim of Western Law• Legal Legitimacy After the Rule of Law? • Ideology, Personal Values and Support for Law 6. Professional Guardianship of Law • What is a Legal Profession? • Professional Unity and the Stratification of Legal Work • Official Values of Legal Practice • Client Interests and 'Public Interest' • Professional Knowledge • The Effects of Lawyers on the Law 7. Judges, Courts, Disputes • Concepts of Judge and Court • Courts and Disputes • Judicial Behaviour and Organisational Studies of Higher Courts• Phenomenology, Ethnomethodology and Studies of Interaction and Organisation in Lower Courts • Ideological Functions of Courts 225 Judge and State • Judicial Hierarchies as Administrative Systems • Courts as Policy Makers • Postscript on Functional Analysis of Courts 8. The Enforcement and Invocation of Law • Institutional Commitments to Legal Doctrine • Enforcing Law and Invoking Law • Opportunity and Incentive to Invoke Law • Types of Enforcement Agencies • Regulatory Agencies and Their Strategies • Regulatory Agencies and Their Environment • Regulation and 'Real Crime' • Police and Law • Police Work and Police Organisation • Police Culture • Enforcement and Law 9. The Prognosis for Law • The Scope of Law and Legal Authority • Informalism, Delegalisation and Access to Law • State, Civil Society and the Diffusion of Power and Control • The Breakdown of Legal Autonomy? • The Future of Legal Individualism • A Postmodern World? • Sociology of Law as Critique Notes and Further Reading Abbreviations References Index............................................................................................................................Author DetailsRoger Cotterrell is Professor of Legal Theory at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. He is author of The Politics of Jurisprudence, also published by Butterworths.............................................................................................................................
