Legal Doctrine. Studies on a basic form of thought und working in jurisprudence.

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christian Bumke
• Subject Area: Principles of Law and Jurisprudence
• Term: from 2013 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 235153866

The subject matter of this research project is dogmatic legal thinking and working as a basic form of legal research, which has significant impact on the self-concept of legal scholarship particularly in German-speaking countries. Legal dogmatics attempts to conceptualize and organize the law formed by legal practice. Furthermore, legal dogmatics claims to instruct legal decision making and to resolve legal questions arising in practice. For these reasons, dogmatic thinking is not restricted to merely describing the present legal system. Rather, it shapes our understanding of the system and claims to answer legal questions appropriately. In this respect it is subject to standards of justice and rightness. Legal dogmatics tries to inspect as well as secure the conception and comprehension of the positive law by shaping concepts, establishing distinctions, developing figures and principles, or forming groups of cases. By these means it provides legal practice with a reservoir of knowledge and enhances the learnability of law. In addition, its reflections question the ideas and decisions of the legal practice. Thus, it contributes to the rationalization of law.The project pursues four goals: Firstly, the characteristics of dogmatic legal thinking and working shall be identified and the instruments and techniques used by legal dogmatists shall be introduced. Secondly, it shall be illustrated that the self-conceptions embraced by the term 'legal dogmatics' differ highly from each other, for dogmatic thinking and working is much less uniform than commonly assumed. Accordingly, there is not only one way, but there are several different ways of dogmatic thinking and working. Thirdly, on the basis of the previous findings it should be possible to assess the rationality of dogmatic working and to determine the status of dogmatic propositions. This clarification not only allows assessing more profoundly the scientific status of jurisprudence but also establishes a basis which is essential for successful interdisciplinary cooperation with cultural and social sciences as well as humanities. Fourthly, the project shall determine how legal dogmatics may secure its significance in the international scientific discussion. The research project is also supposed to contribute to the self-reflection and self-assurance of German jurisprudence in the process of internationalization.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants