Seven Role

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SpecialIssue

TheManyFatesofLegalPositivism

SevenRoleModelsofLegalScholars

ByAndrsJakab*

A. Introduction

InthefollowingArticleIwilldevelopsevenidealtypicalrolemodelsfor(orcaricaturesof)legalscholars: theOracleScientist,theProphet,theLawReformer,theHumbleClerk,theWisePragmatist, theSelfReflective,and theMediaStar.

1 Ten featureswillbeused to

characterizethe idealforeachmodel: primaryaudience,idealfunction,pervertedform,influenceonthe law,prestige,measureofsuccess,timescale,useofnonlegal(moralor

social/economic) arguments, precondition of existence, typical countries, and famouslawyers (representing themselvesor at leastproposing toother legal scholars to followthatspecificrolemodel).

2

Thelistofrolemodelsisnotmeanttobeexhaustive,astherearepossiblyotheroneswithwhichwecouldsophisticatethepictureendlessly. Therolemodelsthemselvesarealsonotmeanttobeexclusive;itispossiblethatonesinglescholarbearsfeaturesofdifferentrolemodels,orwritesapaperinoneroleandanotherpaperinanotherrole. Probablynolegal scholarwould fully fit into any of the rolemodels, but these as ideal types (in a

Weberian sense) still seem tohave someexplanatory forceabouthowweperceiveourtask. Thescopeoftheexplanationisconsciouslylimited: Theconstructionoftheseidealtypes had the purpose of explaining rolemodels of legal scholars only in the GermanspeakingEuropeancountries(andtosomeextent,inothercivillawcountriessuchasSpainand Italy), Hungary (as a postsocialist country), the United Kingdom, and the UnitedStates. The rolemodels are thus not analytical constructionswhich show all logicallypossibleconstellationsofthedifferentcharacterizing features;onlythosewhichseemedtobeable toexplainexisting legal scholarlymentalitiesand selfperceptions in thenamed

*AssociateProfessor,PzmnyPterCatholicUniversityBudapest,email: [email protected].

1TheArticleisalsoacommentonAlexanderSomeksTheSpiritofLegalPositivismpublishedinthisvolumeoftheGERMANLAWJOURNAL. ForusefulremarksandcriticalobservationsIamgratefultoMtysBdig,LisaGiles,TamsGyrfi,GborHamza,BlaPokol,andAlexanderSomek;furthertotheparticipantsoftheresearchseminarheldat the Pzmny Pter Catholic University Budapest on the 4

thof October 2010 especially to Pter Cserne and

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[Vol.12No.02758 Ge rman L aw J ou rna lcountrieshavebeen constructed. Though thecategoriesof thepresent studymightbebroadenedtoincludefurthercountries,thishasnotbeentriedortestedhere.

Thedevelopmentof idealtypicalrolemodelsalsoconteststhenotionofhavingageneralidea of the legal scholarship or legal science. Long but fruitless debates have beenconducted on thequestionofwhether legal scholarship is scholarshipor science at all.

Thosewhowere skepticalabout itannoyedorprovoked the legalacademia3and those

whoconfirmed itwitha looseconceptofscholarshiporsciencewerepopular.4 Butasa

matteroffact,whatlegalscholarsaredoingundertheheadingoflegalscholarshipisjustverydifferentwith seemingly no common thread. Whetherwe label itwith the noblewordscienceorscholarshipissecondary;whatreallymattersisthekindofpresuppositionsbehindthedifferentwaysofconducting legalscholarship(andunderwhatcircumstancestheycanbeaccepted),andwhyintheirgenresomeoftheworkswillbeconsideredbetterorworseby theiracademiccommunity. Thus,deducinggood legal scholarship fromanabstract idea of the legal science is rather hopeless; what we can rather do is to

understandourownapproach,whatthemostmeaningfulwayofundertakingitcouldbe,andwhat pitfallswithin thatwe should avoid. Consequently, I do not have a precisedefinitionofthe"legalscholar"either: Everybodywillbeconsideredassuch,ifheorsheconsidershimselforherselfassuch.

B. TellingJudgesWhattheLawIs: TheOracleScientist

The Oracle Scientists primary audience is fellow academics, his secondary audience,

judges.

He

knows

best

what

the

law

is,

even

better

than

judges.

As

a

matter

of

fact,

judges relyontheopinionoftheOracleScientist(s) tosolvecases. Itcanhappeneitherdirectly by sending the file to themsee the Middle Ages German institution ofAktenversendung which meant that courts sent the files of a case to universities fordecision

5orbytheirconsulting ofacademic literature. Thereasonforcitingacademic

literaturebypractitionerscanalsobefoundinpositiveprocedurallaw: DuringtheMiddle

3 Seegenerally JULIUS VON KIRCHMANN,DIEWERTHLOSIGKEIT DER JURISPRUDENZ ALSWISSENSCHAFT (1848), availableathttp://fama2.us.es/fde/ocr/2006/werthlosigkeitDerJurisprudenz.pdf; ANDRS SAJ, KRITIKAI RTEKEZS A

JOGTUDOMNYRL(1983).4 See generally Ulfrid Neumann, Wissenschaftstheorie der Rechtswissenschaft, in EINFHRUNG IN DIERECHTSPHILOSOPHIE DERGEGENWART 385400 (Arthur Kaufmann et al. eds., 2004) (providing an overview of theliterature).

5SeeHAROLD J.BERMAN,LAWANDREVOLUTION II: THE IMPACTOFTHEPROTESTANTREFORMATIONSONTHEWESTERNLEGALTRADITION143(2003)(includingfurtherreferencestospecificprovisionsofcontemporaryproceduralnorms);seealso GERHARD KBLER, DEUTSCHE RECHTSGESCHICHTE 156 (1996). Similar practice existed in ancient Roman law, when

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2011] 759RoleModelsofLegalScholars

Ages in certain parts of Europe, itwas in some courts obligatory for advocates to citerelevant literature (cf. "chi non ha Azzo non vada in palazzo"; "Quidquid non agnoscitglossanecagnoscit forum"),andwhile judges couldbeheldpersonally liable forwrongdecisions, they avoided such liability if they followed the communis opinio (majority ofauthoritativewriters). To fall intothe lattercategory,theyquotedasmuch literatureastheycould.

6 Buteveninmoderntimes,insomelegalorderspositivelawlookstothethe

commonandconstantopinionoflearnedpersons(CodeofCanonLawof1983,Canon19:"communi constantique doctorum sentential"), to the approved legal doctrine (SwissCivil Code, art. 1.3: "bewhrte Lehre"), or to the the teachings of themost highlyqualifiedpublicistsofthevariousnations(StatuteoftheInternationalCourtofJustice,art.38(1))forthesolutionofcases.

OracleScientistswhohaveneverworkedbefore in lowerjudicialofficesareoften invitedto the highest judicial positions.

7 Her influence is thus considerable on the law, even

though shedoesnotbear responsibilityina legal senseforwhat she isdoing.8 Her

prestige ishigh,herwordor at least thewordof themajorityof theOrderofOracleScientists,

9 i.e.theherrschendeLehreor thedoctrinedominanteshouldbe followedby

judges. IfthelegislatorisafraidthatitslawwillbemodifiedbytheOracleScientistsawellfoundedfearinsomecasesthenithastoprohibittheirwork.

10

TheOracleScientist isnotsimplyascientistexpert,he ismore than that. Hehassomeesotericknowledge,sohecantellwhatthelawstatesaboutaproblem,eveniflaypersonsdonotseeany legalprovisiononthe issue. He isanoraclewhocanseethesigns fromwhichhe reads the law. Buthis job isdifferent from religiousoracles in that it canbe

6WilliamTwiningetal.,TheRoleofAcademicsintheLegalSystem,inTHEOXFORDHANDBOOKOFLEGALSTUDIES938(PeterCane&MarkTushneteds.,2003).

7Id.at940.

8 For the legitimacy problem of influencing the content of law, seeMATTHIAS JESTAEDT,DASMAG IN DER THEORIERICHTIGSEIN...8385(2006).

9You canbecome amemberof theOrderofOracle Scientists if you get accepted in a long ritualby currentmembers. Theritualincludesthedefenseofadoctoraldissertation,thesubmissionofaHabilitationsschrift,andfinallytheappointmentasfullprofessor. Withouthavingfulfilledthesestepsoftheritual,whateveryousaywillcountlessindependentlyfromthecontentofwhatyousaythanwhattheverylastmemberoftheOrdersays.

10Inthe6thcenturyAD,Justinianmadeitobligatorytofollowtheopinionsofsome(mostlythendead)scholars

bycodifyingthembasicallyhemadeobligatorytofollowhisowncodewhichhappenedtobebasedpartlyonscholarly opinionsbut forbade any new commentaries on it: We command that our complete work, which is to

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[Vol.12No.02760 Ge rman L aw J ou rna llearned likeascience,through longyearsof trainingandpractice intheOrderofOracleScientists.

Theyuseaspeciallanguageandlogic,thatoftheRechtsdogmatik. Ifyouwanttoexpressargumentsofefficiencyand justice inthe languageofRechtsdogmatik,thenyouhavetotranslatethemintolegalarguments(unlawful).

11 Argumentsofeffectiveness,etcetera,

arenotnecessarilyirrelevanttolaw,buttheycannotbedeployeddirectly(naked),12

weneedtheallknowingtranslatortodothatforus(e.g.,withthehelpofGeneralklauseln).

But the Oracle Scientist is a very peculiar translator, because you cannot ask him totranslate justanything. He isbuildinga legal conceptual systemonhisownwhichalsoincludeswishes forabettersocietyeven thoughhenever talksaboutsuchpolicy issuesdirectly(thatwouldbeimproper). Butsomehow,thesystemhebuildsuphelpstorealizemeaningfulpolicyissues. TheOracleScientistseemstoknowallourwishesandquestionsabouthowtoapplythelawevenbeforeweexpressthem. Hemustthinkintwotiers: the

legallanguagehespeaks,andthereallife(socialormoral)issueshenevertalksabout.13

Her aim is to build up a conceptual system (doctrine, Rechtsdogmatik) by eliminatingcontingenciesandapparentgapsorcontradictions.

14 Thesystemhebuildsalwaysgives

theone single legally right answer. TheOracle Scientist likes to representhimselfas aneutral, professional, and objective scientist,

15 but as amatter of fact his job is very

creativeandheisbuildinghisownimpliedvaluesintohissystem.16

Thesystemlooksasitsveryownemanation,whichexpands itselftheOracleScientistbeingonlythemouthpieceoftheautonomousRechtsdogmatik.

11PHILIPPEA.MASTRONARDI,JURISTISCHESDENKEN26476(2001).

12 Markus Pcker, Unaufgelste Spannungen und blockierte Vernderungsmglichkeiten im Selbstbild der

juristischenDogmatik,37RECHTSTHEORIE15760(2006).

13SeeAndrsJakab,WhatMakesaGoodLawyer?,62ZEITSCHRIFTFRFFENTLICHESRECHT27587(2007)(discussing

twolevelthinking).14Contradictionshavetobeeliminatedbywayofinterpretation,otherwiseonecannotcontributetothesolution

offutureproblems. Ifcontradictionsaremerelyhighlighted,thoseapplyingthelawwillstarepuzzledatthetwopassages, then decide by tossing a coin. TheOracle Scientists task is to help avoiding this, thusmaking acalculable functioning of the system possible. Eike von Savigny, Die Rolle der DogmatikWissenschaftstheoretischGesehen, in JURISTISCHEDOGMATIKUNDWISSENSCHAFTSTHEORIE104 (UlfridNeumannetal.eds.,1976).

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ThepervertedformoftheOracleScientististhelegalscholar,whodoesnotcareaboutthepracticalapplicabilityandusefulnessofhisconceptualsystem. RudolfvonJhering,oneofthe greatest Oracle Scientists of all times, described the perverted and exaggeratedapproach in his classic (self)ironic essay on the juristic conceptual heaven (ImjuristischenBegriffshimmel)thefollowingway:

Conceptsdonot tolerate any connection to the realworld.... Intheworldofconcepts,thatyoucanseehere,thereisnolifeinthesenseyouknowit,itistheempireofabstractthoughtsandconcepts,thatfollowlogically...fromeachotherwhichforthatreasonshyawayfromeverytouchoftheearthlyworld.

Here rules only pure science, legal logic, and thepreconditionoftheirruleanddignityisexactly...that

theydonothavetodoanythingwithlife.... Life...issynonymouswiththedeathofscience.

The lawyer calculates with his concepts, just like amathematician works with his numbers; if the endresultislogicallycorrect,thenthere isnothingelsetobeworriedaboutanymore.

The concepts you can see here exist, and with this

everythinghasbeensaid. Theyareabsolutetruths,theyalwayshavebeen theyalwayswillbe. Toaskabout theirnature and justification is nothingbetterthantoaskwhyistwotimestwofour. Itisjustfour.With this is has everything been said, there is nojustificationforit. Itisexactlythesamewithconcepts,theyarebasedasabsolutetruthsinthemselves,thereisnoa justification forthem. Theonlythingwhichathinkercandoisto immerseoneself inthemwithfulldevotionandwithoutanyrestraint, inordertorevealthe amplitude of their content . . . . What he canrevealthiswayistruth,andeverytruthhasaclaimtobeuniversallyvalid.

[J]ust likeanaturalscientistwhotriestodiscoverthe

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[Vol.12No.02762 Ge rman L aw J ou rna lthe legalworld, to reveal the fineveins in the logicalorganismofthelaw.

17

IfyoudaretoquestiontheOracleScientistbysayingthathe isdoingBegriffsjurisprudenzasdescribedbyJhering,thenheranswerwillprobablybethatthisisherjob

18andthatshe

does not have the legitimacy to domorelike considering policy issuesand that she

serveslegalcertaintythiswaythebest.MaybehewouldalsonotethatheisactuallydoingaspecialtypeofBegriffsjurisprudenz,thesocalledInteressenjurisprudenz,whichisamoresophisticatedversionandnottheoppositeoftheformerandthatwiththelatterhecanavoidabsurdities.

19 Hemightalsoaddthatthistypeofcriticismisveryold,

20andgettinga

bitboringnow. Hewoulddefinitelypointout that the critiques come and go,but theOrderoftheOracleScientistsstays.

21 Ifsomeonewantstocriticizethemmeaningfullyso

theOracleScientistthenconcretemistakesshouldbepointedout,22butthejobassuch

shouldnotbedoubted.

Heisasecretlawmaker: Hepretendsnottomakelaw,asnobodyempoweredhimtodoso,butinfacthedoesso,atleastinalimitedway. Inordertoconcealhislawmaking,heis telling us that he is just explaining the conceptual system of law and drawingconsequencesfromit. Butthissystemisactuallypartlytheresultofhisscientificwork.

23

ButifweaskanotherfelloworconspiratorOracleScientist,thenheisalsogoingtoconfirmthatnoneofthemisactuallymakinganylaw.

17RUDOLFVONJHERING,SCHERZUNDERNSTINDERJURISPRUDENZ25253,258,274,287,288(1884).

18Lawyersnecessarilyworkwithabstractconcepts. EugenBucher,WasistBegriffsjurisprudenz?,inTHEORIEUND

TECHNIKDERBEGRIFFSJURISPRUDENZ389(WernerKrawietzed.,1976).

19ThisiswellshownbythefactthatthefourtraditionalmethodsofSavigny(grammatical,logical,systemic,and

historical)arenotreplacedbytheteleological(orpurposive)interpretationofwhichJheringisthoughttobetheinventor;rather,itisaddedtothemasafifthmethod. TheoppositeofBegriffsjurisprudenzis theSchoolofFreeLaw(Freirechtsschule). Id.at37273.

20SeePhilippHeck,Was IstDieBegriffsjurisprudenz,DieWirBekmpfen?,14DEUTSCHE JURISTENZEITUNG145661

(1909).

21 It does so openly and explicitly in the tradition of Begriffsjurisprudenz today. ROBERT ALEXY, THEORIE DER

GRUNDRECHTE38(2001). Whilerejectingmerelogicalinference,Alexystillthinkstheelaborationoftheconceptualsystem to be the primary goal of jurisprudence, and in this aspect he explicitly sideswith the tradition ofBegriffsjurisprudenz. Anotherremarkablecontemporaryadvocateofthisapproach isArminvonBogdandy,ThePastandPromiseofDoctrinalConstructivism,7INT'LJ.CONST.L.364400(2009).

22Only concrete logical faultshave tobe shown,but conceptualism as such shouldnotbe criticized. Bucher,

supra note 18 at 388; HorstEberhard Henke Wie tot ist die Begriffsjurisprudenz? in THEORIE UND TECHNIK DER

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His system covers all the possible problems24

without gaps25

or contradictions.26 The

structureof the systemhas tobebuiltup,even if it isachaoticuncodified system. Orrather, it isevenmore important inthesesituations

27asthemost important featureof

legalscholarshipisitssystematicnature.28

Legalscholarshipdoesnotsimplydescribethelaw,itrepresentsthelaw.29 Consequently,

agoodpractitionerhas toknow thoroughly theacademic literature (nemo

bonus

iurista

nisibartolista).30 SoifthepractitionerdoesnotreadtheOracleScientist,itisnotafailure

oftheOracleScientist,itisafailureofthepractitioner. WedonotmeasurethesuccessoftheOracleScientistthroughhisorherinfluenceonthelegalpractice. Ifthelegalpracticedoesnotlistentowhatheorsheissaying,thatistheir(intellectual)problem. TheOracleScientistisbuildinghissystemforitsperfectness(i.e.,full,detailedandnoncontradictory)andbeauty;practicability is important (this is theofficial functionof the system),

31but

onlysecondary. Evenpositivelawcancomeandgo,buttheconceptualsystemremains,ithasbeenbuiltforeternity.

32 Changingsocialcircumstancesalsodonotreallyinfluenceit.

24BuildingaconceptualsysteminsteadofreproductivityisadvocatedalsobyHenke,supranote22,at414.

25TheidealofgaplessnessischaracteristicnotonlyofBegriffsjurisprudenz,butalsooftherationalistnaturallawtradition. GUSTAVBOEHMER,GRUNDLAGENDERBRGERLICHENRECHTSORDNUNG2.1: DOGMENGESCHICHTLICHEGRUNDLAGENDES BRGERLICHENRECHTES63 (1951). For reference toCHRISTIANWOLFF, seeBegriffsjurisprudenz, inTHEORIEUNDTECHNIK DER BEGRIFFSJURISPRUDENZ 43237 (Werner Krawietz ed., 1976), especially page 436. The beginnings ofconceptualsystembuildinginlawaretracedbacktoscholasticsoritsreflectionsintheworksoftheglossatorsandcommentatorsbyBerman. HaroldJ.Berman,TheOriginsofWesternLegalScience,inTHEWESTERNIDEAOFLAW,399413(1983).Specialnoteshouldbetakenofpages401and405.

26EvenauthorsoutsideoftheBegriffsjurisprudenztraditionoftenassumenoncontradictioninthecaseofalegalsystem. J.W.HARRIS: LAWANDLEGALSCIENCE,ANINQUIRYINTOTHECONCEPTSLEGALRULEANDLEGALSYSTEM11,8183(1979).

27Twiningetal.,supranote6,at937.

28Rechtswissenschaftistsystematischodersieistnicht(Legalscholarshipiseithersystematic,oritisnotlegalscholarship). Lepsius,supranote15,at16.

29 Rechtswissenschaft scheint das Recht nicht nur zu beschreiben, sondern auch zu vertreten. Christoph

Mllers,Vorberlegungen zu einerWissenschaftstheorie des ffentlichenRechts, inRECHTSWISSENSCHAFTSTHEORIE

167

(Matthias

Jestaedt

&

Oliver

Lepsius

eds.,

2008).

30RenownedGermanlawfirmsexpecttheirapplicantstoholdadoctorate.

31 In lack of potential practicability, theOracle Scientist does not build grand theories, but onlymiddlelevel

theoriesforexample,thetheoryonproportionalitywhichcanbeusedtosophisticatetheconceptualsystemdesignedtosolvecases. Lepsius,supranote15,at26.

32 InthissenseRechtsdogmatik isconservative.Id.at19. Similarly,seetheHungarianconceptoftheinvisible

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[Vol.12No.02764 Ge rman L aw J ou rna l

Even thoughwedonotmeasure thesuccessof theOracleScientistbyher receptionorinfluenceamongstpractitioners,youdoneedalegalculturewherethistypeofbehaviorisaccepted. Youneedademandamongst legalpractitioners fortheopinionoftheOracleScientist. Iflegalpractitioners(especiallyjudges)donotparticularlyrespectlegalscholars,thenthescholarlyattempttoscientificallyandconceptuallysystematizelawwillmiserably

fail(cf.thecasesofWesleyHohfeld33

andChristopherColumbusLangdell34

).There isjustnodemandfortheworkoftheOracleScientistinsomelegalcultures.

35

OracleScientistsacceptthattheremightbeothertypesoflegalscholars,buttheyconsiderthemselvesasthemost importantbodyof legalscholars,andconsidertheirapproachastheheartoflegalscholarship.

36

Incivil lawcountrieswherejudgesreceivetheirpositionsmoreor lessstraightaftertheirlawdegree,

37 thechancesofsuchanapproachare typicallyhigher than incommon law

countrieswhere themost prestigious legal job is the one of the judge. In the lattercountries the scholar either has to be either aHumble Clerk of judges,

38 or a Prophet

leadingsuperhuman (Herculean) judges,oraWisePragmatistadvising them toconsidernonlegal (economic,social)aspects,oraSelfReflectivewhodoesnotcareabout judgesbutwritesonly toother fellow academics. But a common law scholarusingonly legal(nonmoral and nonsocial) arguments telling judges about what the law is is hardly

situation. TheOracleScientistthusstruggles,ifthe legislatorortheconstituentpoweraretooactive. Mllers,supranote29,at165;Vorwort, inDASPROPRIUMDERRECHTSWISSENSCHAFTXI (ChristophEngel&WolfgangSchn

eds.,2007).

33WesleyNewcombHohfeld,SomeFundamentalLegalConceptionsasAppliedinLegalReasoning,23YALEL.J.16

(1913).

34OnLangdellsvisionoflaw,seeJohnChipmanGray,LangdellsOrthodoxy,45U.PITTL.REV.1(1983). Onlyhis

teachingmethod(casemethod)survived,butnothisapproachtolegalscholarship. WILLIAMP.LAPIANA,LOGICANDEXPERIENCE: THEORIGINOFMODERNLEGALEDUCATION14870(1994);ROBERTSTEVENS,LAWSCHOOL: LEGALEDUCATIONINAMERICAFROMTHE1850STOTHE1980S3572(1983).

35AsSomekpointsout: Thecommon lawtraditionremainsatoddswiththeconstructive legalscholarship. A

newcasechangeseverything.36 For Dogmatik as the core discipline of legal scholarship (Kerndisziplin der Rechtswissenschaft), see RalfDreier, Rechtstheorie und Rechtsgeschichte, in 2 RECHTSTAATVERNUNFT: STUDIEN ZUR RECHTSTHEORIE 217 (RalfDreiered.,1991).

37Judgesarethusyoung,inexperienced,andreceiveonlyamodestsalary. Theirsocialstandingisalsomodest. In

mostcases,theycannotsubmitdissentingopinions,sotheycannotmakenamesandtheyremainunknowninthelegal community Twining et al supra note 6 at 939

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conceivable.However, incivil lawcountries (especially intheGermanic legal family) it isusual practice.

39 The relationship iswell expressed byMerryman: The scholar is the

scientist,andthejudge,atbest,merelytheengineer. Thescholarprovidesthesystematic,scientific legal structure that the judgeaccepts andapplies. Theworkof the scholar iscreativeandexalted;thatofthejudgeis,althoughimportant,onalowerplane.

40

The reasonwhyconceptualdoctrinal legal thought (Rechtsdogmatik)

reached itshighestlevelthoughatthetimestillfragmentedinGermany inthenineteenthcentury isthatononehandlawwasinprinciplequiterigidastheyusedtheancientandhighlyesteemed,consequentlyunquestionable, law,that isRoman law,or itsmodernizedversion,theiusromanum hodiernum (heutiges rmisches Recht). On the other hand, they enshrinedconceptual elaboration into a conscious program (as an alternative to the Frenchrevolutionary invaders codification).

41 This combination is unique in history, and even

todaysGermanlegalscholarshipowesitsconceptualsophisticationtoit.42

C. TellingJudgesWhattheRightThingIstoDecide: TheProphet

TheProphet isprimarilytalkingtojudges;hissecondaryaudience is legalscholars.43

ButhedoesnotconsiderhisprofessionasanOrder(oraguild)liketheOracleScientistdid. Heseeshimselfratherastheleaderofachurch,

44whosemembersarenotonlyandnoteven

primarily legalscholars,but judges. Legalscholarship isabout judges,45

it isalsowrittenfor judges. TheProphetknows themoral foundationsofour societyandhewill tellus(especially judges) what to do. He knows the right way, he has the vision, he issuperhuman. He is Hercules, and if we follow him, we can become like him.

46

39 See generally Armin von Bogdandy, Prinzipien der Rechtsfortbildung im Europischen Rechtsraum:

berlegungenzumLissabonUrteildesBVerfG,NEUEJURISTISCHEWOCHENSCHRIFT1(2010).

40JohnHenryMerryman,TheItalianStyleIII: Interpretation,18STAN.L.R.583,586(1966).

41SeeFRIEDRICHCARLVONSAVIGNY,VOMBERUFUNSERERZEITFRGESETZGEBUNGUNDRECHTSWISSENSCHAFT(1814).

42 Italian legalscholarshipwith itsabstractconceptualismseemssimilar inmanyrespectstotheGermanone

thoughwithoutSavignysconsciousandexplicitprogram. JohnHenryMerryman,TheItalianStyleI: Doctrine,18

STAN.L.R.39,4548(1965).

43 See RICHARDA. POSNER, THE PROBLEMATICSOFMORAL AND LEGAL THEORY IX (2002) (using the expression moralentrepreneursforthese(partlylegal)scholars). However,IpreferthewordProphetasitratherexpressestheneedforfollowers.

44 Thosewho do not like this approachmight consider the Prophet as a religious fanatic. For example, the

descriptionofDworkinastheTalibanoftheWesternlegalthought.... RichardA.Posner,TheProblematicsofM l d L l Th 111 HARV L REV 1637 1695 (1998)

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[Vol.12No.02766 Ge rman L aw J ou rna lUnfortunately, society is notmature enough yet and they donot see his truth. TheProphetistryingtoexplaintothemthatiftheydonotagreewithhim,theyarejustwrong.Butitisnotalwayssuccessful,soitisbettertotalktoamoreelevatedsectionofsociety,totheintellectualsandamongthemespeciallyjudges.

OracleScientistsmightconsiderthetruthtobewhatthemajorityoftheirOrderthinks

(herrschende

Meinung). ButtheProphetdoesnotneedthemajorityofanyOrderorbody.TheProphetcan see the truthonhisown,withoutanyhelp fromothers. TheProphetthinksthatOracleScientistsandalsotheWisePragmatistsaredishonest,manipulative,pharisaic, and conspirative legal scholars who pretend not to move along their ownpoliticalmoralagendaandtobeneutraleventhoughtheyactuallydohaveaconsciouspoliticalagendabehindthefacadeofneutrality.

47

On thebaseof theConstitution (consideredas somekindofcodifiednatural lawof thegiven political community), theProphet can find out theOne SingleRightMoralVision

(OSRMV)of thegiven society.48 TheConstitution isactuallybasedon theOSRMV,onlythatmostpeopledonotsee it. Asamatteroffact,onlytheProphetcansee it,ashe issuperhuman. Judgesare theavantgarde,theyhaveto leadsocialchange implementingtheOSRMV;especiallyjudgesfromthehighest(constitutionalorsupreme)courthavethistask. If they do not do it, they are heretics and betrayers.

49 Democracy is of course

(morally) good, but only if the people elect politicianswhowant tomake laws exactlyconformingtotheideasoftheProphet. Butifitisnothappening(asitisnothappening,asthe people have not yet recognized fully the Prophets truth), then judges have toimplement theOSRMV (relyingon theConstitution) insteadofpoliticians. TheProphet

purportsthathehasbeenenlightenedabouttheOSRMV fromtheConstitution itself,sothere isnothingarbitrary inhismethod. Constitutionalcourt judgesandsupremecourtjudgesoftenfindhisideasappealingasthesehelpthemtoexpandtheirpowerandatthesametimetobuildupamoralimage.

His critics doubt, however, whether the Constitution supports only one moral vision;instead,theysaythatseveralmoralvisionsfittotheConstitution.

50 Thecriticssaythese

thingsonlybecausetheydonotentirelyyetunderstandtheProphet. Withtime,thiswill

47RONALDDWORKIN,LIFESDOMINION329,11847(1993).

48SeeDWORKIN,supranote45,at22528,25458(basinglawasintegrityonacoherentmoralvision).

49Cf.Dworkin,supranote38. SomeOracleScientistsfollowing aWeberianviewofscienceplainlydespisethe

Prophetasunscientific. Cf.MAXWEBER,WISSENSCHAFTALSBERUF25(1996)(weilderProphetundderDemagogenichtaufdenKathedereinesHrsaalsgehren.)(becausetheprophetandthedemagoguedonotbelongtothelectern of a lecture hall ) Weber himself rather belongs to the SelfReflective category but his quoted text

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definitely change, the more advanced teachings of the Prophet will prevail and theoutdated concurrentopinionswillall fail. TheProphets teachings are for eternity,butthesearesometimesaboutveryconcreteissues,soifanewcasecomesup,itisbettertoaskhimagain,sohecanteachussomethingnewandwise.

TheProphetcanworkonly inacountrywhere the judiciary isprestigiousenough tobe

braveenough tousehisOSRMV. In countrieswhere judgeshave legitimacy issues, theProphetsnotstrictlylegalconsiderationscanhaveonly limitedsuccess,asjudgesdonotdare touse such arguments. If judgespower stems from the legislator, then they areshyertotalkaboutmoralvisions,andtheyratherasktheOracleScientistaboutwhattodo.

51 TheProphetsteaching isalsodifficult touse inpractice, if the respectivecountry

does not have a written constitution, because it is even more difficult to claim theexistenceofOSRMVifithastofitachaoticancientprecedentsystem. TheProphetisthusmostlikelytosucceedincommonlawcountrieswithawrittenConstitution,andtoalesserextent,incivillawcountrieswithastrongconstitutionalcourtwhereprestigiousjudgesare

sitting.52

Italsohelpshisworkiftherearestrongnaturallawtraditionsinhiscountry.53

TheProphetwantstoinfluencethelawthroughjudicialdecisions,eventhoughheisnotajudgehimselfasheismuchmorethanthat. Ifjudgesdonotfollowhim,hecanbesaidtohavefailed. AProphetwithoutfollowersisnoonebutanarrogantlunatic.

D. AdvisingtheLegislatorWhattheLawShouldBe: TheLawReformer

The Law Reformer does not reallywant to talk to judges. Shewants to convince thelegislator. Eitherbecausehedoesnottrustjudges,intellectuallyormorally,orbecausehethinksitismoredemocraticandtransparenttochangethelawbythelegislator. TheLawReformerdoesnotoften like judgemade lawatall. With the famouswordsofoneofthem:

51Cf.PierreLegrand,EuropeanLegalSystemsarenotConverging,42INT'L&COMP.L.Q.52,7475(1996)(covering

thedifferencebetweencommonlawandcivillawcountries). Heexplainsthatinthecommonlawperceptionthecourtspowerisoriginalitstemsfromthecommonlawandnotfromstatutesasopposedtocivillawcountrieswhereitstemsfromthelegislator. SeealsoStephenSedley,HumanRights: aTwentyFirstCenturyAgenda,PUB.L.386(1995)(discussingbipolarsovereigntyoftheCrowninParliamentandtheCrowninitscourts).

52Unfortunately(fortheProphet),theconstitutionalcourtjudgesincivillawcountriesareoftenmembersofthe

Order ofOracle Scientists, and they are not particularly impressed by the emotional parvenu Prophet. Theyprefer to follow their centuries old traditions of (seemingly) valueneutral scientific approach to law

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[Vol.12No.02768 Ge rman L aw J ou rna lItisthejudges...thatmakethecommonlaw. Doyouknowhowtheymakeit? Justasamanmakeslawsforhisdog. When yourdogdoesanything youwant tobreakhimof,youwaituntilhedoes it,andthenyoubeathimforit. Thisisthewayyoumakelawsforyourdog: andthisisthewayjudgesmakelawforyouand

me.54

TheLawReformerhasplansforsociety,howtoimproveit,andhowtoadvanceit. Inorderto convince the legislator, he has to use policyarguments combined with moralconsiderations.

Thistypeoflegalscholardominatedthelandscapeinsocialistcountries,wheretheofficialdoctrineofsocialistnormativismtriedtoturn judges into lawapplyingmachines,usingrather literal interpretation, and the official lawmaking power only lay with the

Parliament. TheParliamentfollowedthescientificandmodernsocialistviewsinordertotransformsociety intosocialismand later intocommunism. Forthebigreformplantheyneeded advisors on how to use law as an instrument of social transformation. Theseadvisorswerelegalscholarspresentingdelegeferendaworksofferedtothelegislatorforfurther use.

55 If the legislator is legally omnipotent (i.e., there are no constitutional

constraints),56

thenwedonothavetodealwithintricatedoctrinalquestionsatallandwecanconcentrateonthe instrumentalcharacterof law. Law isameanstochangesociety,andwe need lawyerswho can use this instrument. Themost important lawyer is thestatutedrafterorcodifier: theLawReformer. And if legalscholarswanttobeusefulto

society(andnotjusttheorizefornoreason),thentheyshouldprepareproposalsfornewlaws.

57 They have to use the results of social sciences within the frames of orders

developedbypoliticians.

If judgeshappen todevelopsomenew ideas then thescholarhas topresentaproposalhow tocodify it,as judgemade law isuncertain in thisparadigm (as theycouldchangetheir practice and their decisions aremore difficult to access than statutes): Only thelegislatormakes real law.

58 Aworkwritten in thisstyle is relevantas longas the social

54JeremyBentham,TruthVersusAsshurst,in5THEWORKSOFJEREMYBENTHAM23337,235(W.Taited.,1843).

55SeeAndrsJakab,SurvivingSocialistLegalConceptsandMethods,inTHETRANSFORMATIONOFTHEHUNGARIANLEGAL

ORDER1985200560619(AndrsJakabetal.eds.,2007).

56Atthispoint,theWestminstersystemandthesocialistcountrieswereverysimilar.

57The real task of legal scholarship is preparing proposals for new laws; otherwise legal scholarship is just useless

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problemtobesolvedisstillthereand/orthelawfordealingwithithasbeenmade. Afterthis,thescholarlyworkcanbethrownaway.

TheLawReformer issuccessful ifpoliticiansaccepthisorherproposals,and if inpracticethesenewlawswork. Thisapproachcanandsporadicallydoesexisteverywhere,butitissurprisingly strong in somepostsocialist countries,where (despite anew constitutional

system) such oldmentalities based on the unlimited central legislator and on a nonautonomousjudiciarysurvived.59

Itisgettingweaker,butprobablyforseveraldecadesitstraceswillremainstronginthesecountries.

E. Explaining to Attorneys and Law Students What Judges or Legislators Did: The

HumbleClerk

TheHumbleClerksimplyrepeatswhatjudgesorlegislatorsdecided. Hisprimaryaudienceisattorneysand lawstudents. TheHumbleClerk isneverconsideredanauthority. Themorepreciseheisinrepeatingwhatjudgesandlegislatorssaid,thebetterclerkheis.

TheHumbleClerkcanbeconsideredastheothertypeofblack letterscholarshipbesidestheOracleScientist. Also theHumbleClerk claimsneutrality; thedifference is that theHumbleClerk is actuallyneutral, ashe isnotdoing any creativework. He just repeats(copypastes),summarizes(thiscanbedangerouslycreativeandimprecise)anddescribes(neverprescribes). Thus, hedoes nothave touse any extralegal (moral or economic)argumentseither;thereisnothinginterdisciplinaryinwhatheisdoing.

IftheHumbleClerkistryingtobecreativelyacademic,itgoesmiserablywrong. Heisjustnottrainedforsuchintellectualexercises. AnappositedescriptionoftheproblemisgivenbyDicey:

Ourbestworks,suchasSmithsLeadingCases,areatbottom amere accumulation of notes on detachedpoints of curious, rather thanuseful, learning. Theyaredeficient inallgeneralconceptions, inallgraspof

principles, in all idea of method. . . . Turn, forexample, to awriter whose bookwas twenty yearsagothestudentsguidetothelawofcontract. MrJWSmithopenshistreatisewithachapterontheNatureand Classification of Contracts. Of the nature ofcontractshe tellshis readernothing. Whathedoes

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[Vol.12No.02770 Ge rman L aw J ou rna ltell them is that agreements consist of contracts ofrecord,contractsundersealandsimplecontracts. Hefirstsubstitutesdivisionfordefinition,andthengivesadivisionwhich,forabsoluteuninstructiveness,maybecomparedtoanattempttoclassifyanimalsbydividingthem intododos, lionsandallanimalswhicharenot

dodosorlions.

60

TheprestigeoftheHumbleClerk is low. HestayedattheuniversitybecausehedidnotmakeittotheBar;heisaloserwhodoesnotdaretogooutintoreallife. Heisnotgoodenoughforthat,hecanonlybecomeaclerk. Orheisjustlazy,doesnotlikelongworkinghoursinlawfirms,andwantstoenjoythelongsummerholidaysatuniversities.

Inacountrywherethemostprestigiousjobistheoneofthejudges,soifthejudgeistheliving oracle of the law,

61 then the legal scholar cannot be anymore the oracle. If a

HumbleClerkwritesacasenote,hecannotdaretoexpresscriticismonwhatthe judgessaid.

62 Evenifsomethingisobviouslywrong,hecanonlydocumentwhatthejudgessaid,

hecannottrytocorrectitortodissentfromit.63

Dissentandcorrectionareforjudgesandlegislators.

IfheseestheworkoftheOracleScientists,heispartlyimpressed,partlycriticalaboutitsartificialsystembuildinganddoubtswhether it isactuallythe lawasjudgeshavenotyetconfirmed it.

64 HumbleClerkshavetobe impressedhowsmartthe judgesare,andthey

have to note and repeat the words of those wise men and women as precisely as

possible.65 Ifjudgesseeminglycontradictthemselvesoreachotheratrulyembarrassing

60ALBERTVENNDICEY,CANENGLISHLAWBETAUGHTATTHEUNIVERSITIES?INAUGURALLECTURE,21APRIL188313(1883). As

amatteroffact,arealOracleScientistwouldconsiderDiceysworks(forexample,ANINTRODUCTIONTOTHESTUDYOFTHECONSTITUTION(1959))exactlyasprimitiveandunsystematicashedoeshiscontractlawyercolleaguesbook.

61WILLIAMBLACKSTONE,1COMMENTARIESONTHELAWSOFENGLAND69(1765).


63 Seegenerally John Smith,AnAcademic Lawyerand LawReform [PresidentialAddress,The SocietyofPublicTeachersofLaw],1LEGALSTUD.119(1981)(providinganecdotes).

64SeeMichelleEverson,Isitjustme,oristhereanElephantintheRoom?,13EUR.L.J.136,138(2007)(criticizing

theOracleScientists (here,PRINCIPLESOFEUROPEANCONSTITUTIONALLAW (JrgenBast&ArminvonBogdandyeds.,2006)) for seeing a systematic law where it actually does not exist; against the Germanic obsession ofsystematic and elitist authoritative legal doctrine). Everson also considers the object of her criticism thetheoryor doctrinebuilt up by German scholars most of whom however would probably not consider

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situationforaclerkthentheHumbleClerkhastolookagain: Judgescannothavemadeamistake,somehowallthedecisionshavetoberight,andtheyjustmustbeunderstoodtherightway. Inhiseyes,all judicialdecisionsareright,unlessanother judicialdecisionorastatutetellsyoulaterthatthosewerewrong.

Unfortunately, judgesdonotcareaboutwhatthe loserclerkssay,theyhardlyquoteany

scholars.

66

Judgesevenopenlydespiselegalscholarshipandtalkaboutthedangers,wellperceivedbyourpredecessorsbut tending tobeneglected inmodern times,ofplacingrelianceontextbookauthorityforananalysisofjudicialdecisions.

67 Judgesinsuchalegal

ordermightevenregarditascomplimentarytobetoldthattheyaresuspectedofhavinglittleinterestintheoryoranacademicapproachtolegalissues.

68

Ifanacademicwantstodosomethingintellectuallychallenginginsuchalegalculture,thenhe isdoing research about lawwith nonlegal (sociological,political science, economic)methods (sociolegal studies), or he is writing about very abstract theoretical issues

(jurisprudence,constitutionaltheory). ThusshehastobecomeaSelfReflective.

TousetheexpressionsbyAlexanderSomek,theHumbleClerkclaimsandaimsdescriptiveaccuracy about lawand what is the same for him, judicial decisionsbut lacks thecriticaledge. WhereastheOracleScientistalsoclaimsdescriptiveaccuracyofthelaw,but in the name of this descriptive accuracy he has the critical edge against judicialdecisions. According to Somek,we can see a change inmentality, the critical edge isfading. Iseethesituationslightlydifferently. Itistruethatsuchmentalitieschangeovertime,but Iseethedifferencesrathergeographically. Incontinentalcountries,theOracle

Scientististhetypicalblackletterlegalscholar;intheU.K.,theHumbleClerk;traditionallyin the U.S., it is rather what I call later theWise Pragmatist and nowadays the SelfReflective. Thedifferencesdescribedbyhimarethuslessaquestionofthehistoryoflegaltheorybutratherofcomparativelaw.

Traditionally the Humble Clerk is the typical English law school memberlacking thescholarlyambitionoftheOracleScientistasWilliamTwiningdescribedthesituationwiththefollowingfictitiouspicture:

66Cf.HeinKtz,ScholarshipandtheCourts:AComparativeStudy, inCOMPARATIVEANDPRIVATEINTERNATIONALLAW:

ESSAYSINHONOUROFJOHNH. MERRYMANONHISSEVENTIETHBIRTHDAY183195(D.S.Clarksed.,1990)(showingthatas opposed to thirteen secondary authority per judgment inGermany,where the academia is dominated byOracleScientistsinEngland,dominatedbyHumbleClerks,youfindonly0,77inaverage).

67Johnson v Agnew [1980] AC 367 395 per Lord Wilberforce (House of Lords)

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[Vol.12No.02772 Ge rman L aw J ou rna l[A]caseexhibitingasampleofrecentpublicationsbytheFaculty, fourslimmonographs,aboutadozen fatbooks addressed to the student market (three ofwhich arepast their thirdeditions)andanumberofoffprintswithobscure titles,which somemight thinkareselfaddressed. Noroomcouldbefoundherefor

rathermore lucrative publications, such as nutshells(or other student aids), contributions to looseleafpractitioners services, and occasional journalism.First impressions suggest that this is primarily ateaching institution, which is quite a vocationallyoriented,butwhich is trying tobuilduphis researchprofile.

69

InEngland,asopposedtotheContinentortheU.S.,evenformajorscholarlytasksneeded

bythegovernment,judgesseemrathertobetherightcandidates.70

Ifthereisaneedforanimportantreportaboutthelegalsystem,thenratherjudgesseemtohavethenecessaryintellectual andmoral qualification for it.

71 Legal scholars can quote them later and

disseminatethejudgesprofoundideas.

Incountries,whereinsteadofthejudge(andthejudgemadelaw)theemphasisison(theliteralmeaningof)codified law, theHumbleClerknotesand repeatswhat the legislatorsaid. If the legislatorchanges the law,all the formerworksof theClerkcanbe thrownaway.

72 In thisperception, it ispossible to runa legal systemwithoutanykindof legal

scholarship.73 Legalscholarshipisthusnotanintellectuallyvaluablework,eventhoughitmightbeusefultodothesecretarialpartofrunningthelegalsystemasthelegalmaterialisjustbigtooverviewit.

74

69WILLAMTWINING,BLACKSTONESTOWER: THEENGLISHLAWSCHOOL69(1994).

70ATIYAH&SUMMERS,supranote53,at38687.

71SeeGlidewellReport(TheReviewoftheCrownProsecutionService,1998),WoolfReport(ReportonAccessto

CivilJustice,1996),AuldReport(ReviewoftheCriminalCourtsofEnglandandWales,2001). Even ifacademics

writesometimessuchofficialreports,itisnotobviousfortheEnglishasopposedtothecontinentalortheUSperceptionthatacademicsshouldbetheprimaryauthorsinsuchcases.

72 See KIRCHMANN, supranote 3, at 17 ([D]rei berichtigendeWorte desGesetzgebers und ganzeBibliotheken

werden zuMakulatur.) (Three correctingwordsof the legislatorandwhole librariesbecomewastepaper.).ThatisthereasonwhyOracleScientistsoftenopposelawreforms: itwouldruintheiroeuvre. Cf.id.at11. ForapowerfulresponsebyKarlLarenz,seeKarlLarenz,UberdieUnentbehrlichkeitderJurisprudenzalsWissenschaft,JURISTISCHENGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN (2006) availale at http://www juristischegesellschaft de/schriften/26 pdf

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F. AdvisingJudgesAboutSociallyBestDecisions: TheWisePragmatist

TheWisePragmatistiswritingforjudges;heisadvisingthemaboutsociallybestdecisions.In doing so, law in a strict sense is only one factor for him besides common sense,sociologyoreconomy;heisusingthuspolicyargumentsveryoften.

Ingeneral,hetakesthenormativityoflaw lessseriously. Toformulate itinacynicalandprovocative way: The prophecies of what courts will do in fact, and nothing morepretentious, are what Imean by the law,

75 or [g]eneral propositions do not decide

concrete cases.76

His doubt in the normativity of law makes him characteristicallydifferentfromtheOracleScientist,theHumbleClerk,andtheProphet. Healso lackstheintellectuality of the Oracle Scientist and the moralism of the Prophet. He is ratherinstrumentalistandutilitarian.

AsopposedtotheLawReformer,hedoesnotdistrustjudges. Itisrathertheopposite: aprecondition of the existence of the Wise Pragmatisttype legal scholar is exactly aprestigious and trusted judiciarywhich dares to use not strictly legal argumentsin asocietywherejudgesareratherconsideredtobestatebureaucratsofthemouthpieceofthelawtypethisapproachisunlikelytosucceed. AlsoasopposedtotheLawReformer,thedifference between legal and nonlegal arguments is less sharp for him. TheWisePragmatistdoesnot take seriously thedifferencebetweenwhat the law is andwhat itshould be,whereas the LawReformerwants to see a sharp line.

77 The LawReformer

protects

his

own

competence

for

changing

the

lawor

at

least

advising

the

legislator

about itin this way, whereas the Wise Pragmatist is helping to expand judgespossibilitiesbyblurringthefrontier. Inthissense,theWisePragmatist is inherentlyantipositivistor at least, asHolmes, an antiformalist positivistand the Law Reformer ispositivistandformalist.

Another precondition for the existence of Wise Pragmatists is the inefficiency oflegislation. IntheU.K.therearenosuchproblems(cf.parliamentarysovereigntymeaninginpracticethesovereigntyoftheHouseofCommonsinwhichnormallyonlyonepartyisin

Reformers,theywerejustclerksofcommunistpoliticiansrepeatingpartyresolutions,notproposinglawreform.Itwas (existentially) risky topropose anythingnew, as communist leadersmighthavedisagreed, so the legalscholar could lose his job or even more. See MICHAEL STOLLEIS, SOZIALISTISCHE GESETZLICHKEIT: STAATSUNDVERWALTUNGSRECHTSWISSENSCHAFTINDERDDR(2009)(providingadditionaldetailsandstories).

75OliverWendellHolmes,LawinScienceandScienceinLaw,12HARV.L.REV.443(1899).

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[Vol.12No.02774 Ge rman L aw J ou rna lgovernment,and thispartys internaldiscipline is strong),and this typeof legal scholarcouldnotemerge.

78 In theU.S.,however,where the separationofpowers in the law

making power (possessed by three politically distinct and powerful organs together:Senate, House of Representatives, and President), the lack of party discipline in theCongress (and consequently the numerous unexpected amendments proposed bymembers of the Congress),

79 the rather low quality of legislative drafting,

80 the

constitutional

limits

(as

interpreted

by

the

Supreme

Court),

and

the

higher

speed

of

changing social circumstances81

all contribute to the eminent need for judicial lawmaking.

82 Judges seem to be able tomake law in theU.S.more speedily

83 andmore

cheaply84

than the legislator. It alsomeans that judges in theU.S.have to look at thefuture(solutionsforsocialchallenges)ratherthanatthepast(caselaw).

85 Consequently,

judgesadhere lesstothedoctrineofstaredecisis,anddeviate frompastdecisionsmoreoften.

86 Buttheyaregratefulforadviceasto inwhichdirectiontheyshoulddoso. This

advice isveryoftennot legal(istic)atall,butuseseconomicorsocialarguments (e.g., intheformofaBrandeisBrief).

87

Judges in theU.S. are also often ratherpoliticians (state judges are sometimesdirectlyelectedby the localpopulation for a limited term, federal judgesareappointedmostlyexactlybecauseofpartymembershipand loyalty,sotheiraudienceismuchlessthe legal

78SeeATIYAH&SUMMERS,supranote53,at141,149(explainingthatLegalchangeintheUKisratherintroducedby

legislation,whichispreparedbyhighlyeducatedcivilservantsandnotbylegalscholars).

79Id.at 314.

80Id.at37,334.

81Id.at134.

82Seeid.at270([T]herecanbelittledoubtthatoneoftheprincipalreasonsthatAmericancourtsmakesomuch

lawisthat[bycomparisonwithBritishParliament]Americanlegislaturesmakesolittle.).

83MauriceRosenberg,AnythingLegislaturesCanDo,CourtsCanDoBetter?,62A.B.A.J.587(1976).

84RICHARDNEELY,HOWCOURTSGOVERNAMERICA30,71(1981).

85 SeeROSCOEPOUND,AN INTRODUCTION TO THEPHILOSOPHYOF LAW47 (1922) (discussing the conceptof Judgesas

socialengineers).

86ATIYAH&SUMMERS,supranote53,at11827. IntheUK,highercourtsbindthemselves(withsomeexceptions);

intheU.S.theycanoverruletheirownpastdecisions. IntheU.S.,evenalowercourtcanoverruleapastdecisionofahighercourtifitexpectsthehighercourttooverrule it(anticipatoryoverruling). Thedeviationfromthestaredecisis ispartlycausedby thesizeoftheU.S.; thereare just toomany judicialdecisions tohaveastrictstaredecisis. Oncethestaredecisisisloosenedup,thereisalsomoreroomtofollowacademicopinions. Id.at32 12830 148

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profession than theelectingpeopleor theappointingpoliticians), sononlegal (political,social, policy, moral) arguments are much more acceptable for them than in othercountries.

88

Asthelawisdifficulttochangebylegislation,itisbetternottohavedescriptiveaccuracyabout law, because itwouldmean thatwemight discover the need for (cumbersome)

legislation.

Rather,

problems

can

be

solved

in

a

practical

manner

if

we

consider

law

as

aimingformeaningfulsocialpurposesand interpret it inthecourts liberally. Tofindoutthesepurposes,academic literaturecanbeofgreathelp. TheOracleScientistcouldalsogivesuchadvice,butintheU.S.nobodyreallybelievesthatthelawisinfactassystematicas allOracles Scientists profess. Law seems rather to be a practical device tomanagesociety. The technical language of advice by the Oracle Scientist does not give anysubstantivereasonseitherwhythefinaldecisionshouldbeaccepted(bythepeopleorbythepoliticians).

89 Andalso importantly,exceptforsomeEuropean immigrantsthereare

just no Oracle Scientists in the U.S., and even if theywrite about a question in their

legalisticstyle,anAmericanjudge justdoesnotgetthemastheirscholarly languageandstyleareoutof touchwithherneedsand interests. If somebody tries tobeanOracleScientistinsuchalegalculture(likeLangdelldid),hewillbedismissedasaformalistandhewillfail.

90

Because of the nonprofessional factors in the selection of judges, sometimes thenecessary intellectual capacity is also missing to be able to understand the OracleScientists: Itisamazinghowmanyjudgesespecially,butnotexclusively,statejudgeslackthebasicintelligencetounderstandamoderatelycomplexlegalargument. Someare

just plain stupid; others lack the necessary legal education; still others are lazy andimpatient.

91

Forthosejudgeswholackthedoctrinaltechnicallegalknowledge,itisjusteasiertodecidethecaseon its substantivemerits.

92 Tocounter thementionedunfavorable intellectual

88ATIYAH&SUMMERS,supranote53,at342,344,35051,379. ThisisverydifferentfrombothcivillawcountriesandEngland. Forthelatter,seeLordScarmaninMcLoughlinv.OBrian[1983]1ACat340aboutthenecessaryabstinenceofEnglishjudgesfrompolicy.

89Inanonelitistculture,thereasonshavetobeunderstandableandacceptablealsoforthegeneralpublic. But

seeATIYAH&SUMMERS,supranote53,at38,225,232(contrastingwiththeU.K.).

90 I am afraid that Professor Somek fightswithin the sameenvironment as Professor Langdell didmore than

hundredyearsago,andhisambitionthatthecriticaledgeoflegalscholarshipshouldbeusedinaconstructive(rather than clerkwise)manner is similarlydoomed to fail. Professor Somekwants toproclaim thepowerofOracle Scientists in a countrywhere there is hardly anybodywith such an ambition andwhere the general( titi j di i l) t lit i l d t ll it

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[Vol.12No.02776 Ge rman L aw J ou rna lphenomena, sometimes prestigious Wise Pragmatist professors are appointed to thehighest judicial positions without any previous practical experience (but with wellidentifiablepoliticalsympathies),wheretheyoftenbring intheirsociologicaloreconomicapproaches.

93

AsAmericanlegislationissporadic,andthelawmakingpowerisinamuchlargerextentin

the

hands

of

judges

than

in

other

countries,

and

as

the

stare

decisis

is

less

adhered

to,

the

dangerof legaluncertainty ismore imminent. The legislatorcannotencounterthis legaluncertaintybecause of its inefficiency, the judges cannot do itbecauseof the (casebycase) nature of judicial law making either. So, legal scholars (Wise Pragmatists,cooperatingwith judgesandpractitioners)havetodo it, in the formofRestatementsoftheLaw.

94 TheRestatement ismorecreativethan theHumbleClerkswork,but itdoes

nothavethescientificambitionoftheOracleScientistswritingseither.95

Itjustwantstohelp judges, like theWisePragmatistalwaysdoes. But italsogives theopportunity for(some) lawreforms: Thecase law issochaotic,contradictoryandhugethatyoucanuse

yourownpolicyideastochoosetherightones.

Even if the legislatordidnotagreewith theway judicialcase law isevolving (under theinfluenceoftheWisePragmatists),itcannotcounteritsoeasilybecauseofitsmentionedefficiency problems and because of the constitutional constraints.

96 The constitutional

constraints themselvesare in thehandsof judgesTheConstitution iswhat the judgessayitis

97andtheConstitutionispracticallyunamendable.

ThebalancebetweenthelegislatorandthejudgeisverydifferentintheU.K.andtheU.S.

Consequentlyand notably contradicting to some rough continental Europeanprejudicestheroleandprestigeof legalscholars isalsoverydifferent(prestigiousWisePragmatistvs.nobodyHumbleClerk):

93Id.at340,345.

94Similarly,seetheworkoftheAmericanLawInstitute,availableathttp://www.ali.org/. Intheirselfdescription,[t]heAmericanLaw Institute is the leading independentorganization in theUnitedStatesproducingscholarlyworktoclarify,modernize,andotherwise improvethe law. TheRestatementsofLawdonothaveanyformalvalidity,butareneverthelessveryinfluentialwithastrongpersuasiveforce.

95Ininternationallaw,awellknownexampleoftheWisePragmatistapproachistheNewHavenSchool. MICHAEL

REISMAN, THE VIEW FROM THE NEW HAVEN SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW: INTERNATIONAL LAW IN CONTEMPORARYPERSPECTIVE(1992). ThisapproachneverhadanysuccessintheOracleScientistdominatedGermaninternationall l h l hi

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Perhaps nothing illustrates the gulf which stillseparatesEnglishandAmericanlawschoolsmorethantheyway inwhichEnglandspremier law journal,TheLaw Quarterly Review, has been taken over by thepractisingprofession,beingeditedfromchambers inLondonbyaCircuitjudge. Wedoubtifanythingshort

of

a

constitutional

amendment

could

shift

the

control

of theHarvard Law Review to aWall Street firm ofattorneys!

98

Another factor helping the influence of theWise Pragmatist is that American federaljudges have law clerks. They are fresh law school graduateswhowere often studenteditors of law reviews and are keen to use that knowledge or their interdisciplinaryeducation.

99 Theirinterdisciplinaryorientationisduepartlytothefactthatlawisasecond

degreeintheU.S.,sotheyhavetohaveafirstdegreeinsomethingnonlegal,andpartlyto

thefactthatAmericanlegaleducationingeneraltendstobemoreinterdisciplinary(maybealsobecauseoftheabovedescribedneedforinterdisciplinarity)thanothercountrieslegaleducation.

G. Theorizing About Law and Legal Scholarship for Other Legal Scholars: The Self

Reflective

TheSelfReflectivewritesforfellowacademics;shedoesnoteventrytobeusefulforlegalpractitioners.

100 Most legaltheoristsat leastwhodonotwanttomakeadirect impact

on how the legal order is runbelong to this category of legal scholars.101 But alsorepresentativesoflawandmovementsorcomparative lawyerswouldmostlycounttothisgroup,unlesstheygivepracticaladviceeitherforthelegislatororforthejudges,whatwouldmakethembelongtooneoftheformerlymentionedrolemodels.

98ATIYAH&SUMMERS,supranote53,at388n.5.

99 Ronald A. Cass & Jack M. Beerman, Throwing Stones at the Mudbank: The Impact of Scholarship on

Administrative Law,45ADMIN.L.REV.1,89(1993). Lawclerksremainonlyoneyearatthecourt,ensuringthatnewintakealwaysbringsfreshacademicairtothecourt.

100Also,academicsbelongingtoothergroupssometimesthemselveswriteSelfReflectiveworks(e.g.,thequoted

writings of Jhering), but they do not consider it the primary task of legal scholars. For them, it is rather amethodological pre or metawork And on the other hand SelfReflectives might make short excursions into

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[Vol.12No.02778 Ge rman L aw J ou rna lAsopposedtotheformermodels inwhichthere isahierarchy inprestigebetween legalscholarsandpractitioners(theOracleScientist,theWisePragmatist,theProphetandtheLawReformerarehigherthanthepractitioner,theHumbleClerkislower),herethereisnohierarchy. TheSelfReflectiveissimplyplayinginadifferentfield. Sheisnotimpressedbypractitioners,andshedoesnotwanttoimpresspractitioners. Shewantstostayfulltimeintheivorytower,shedoesnotreallycarewhatisgoingonoutsideintherealworld. Her

audience

are

either

other

Self

Reflectives,

or

the

Oracle

Scientists,

the

Wise

Pragmatists,

theProphets,orLawReformers. Sheissuccessful ifshecan influencewhatheraudiencethinksorwrites,andcanbemeasuredbythenumberofquotationshegetsorbythefactthatshepublishes in renownedandpopularscholarly forums (e.g. inpeer reviewed lawreviews). Maybeshedoesnotevenwanttoinfluencetheseotheracademics,butshejustwantstoprovokethem.

102

As shedoesnot considerherselfaspartof the legal (practical)discourse,but ratherasleadingametadiscourseaboutthe legaldiscourse,she isnot limitedto legalarguments.

Shecanusemoral,economicorphilosophical (philosophyofscience,etc.)arguments.103

Asher ideasarebound to thechanging law,butareverygeneral,sheaims towrite foreternity,andherchances tobe readable long termareactuallybetter, than the similarambitionsoftheOracleScientistoroftheProphet.

You can find such legal scholars (they do not necessarily consider themselves as legaltheorists) inmost lawschools,butthe likelihoodoftheirexistence ishigher, ifthere isaregular bureaucratized scholarship assessment. In the latter case, legal academicswillevaluate thework of legal academics and theyobviously appreciatemoreworkswhich

havebeenaddressedexplicitlytothem. Thus,academicswillwanttoimpressonlyfellowacademicswhodecideabouttheirtenureanddonotcareatallaboutpracticability.

The phenomenon is wellknown in the U.S., where they talk about the growing gapbetween legalacademia, including legaleducation,andthe legalprofession.

104 The legal

scholarship is rarely quoted by courts and not respected by legal academics, and therespectedworks are absolutelyuseless for practitionersuse.

105 Statistically, there is a

102Thisprovocationmight consistofdestroyingorat leastpointingout the selfdeceptionofOracleScientists

abouttheirneutralityandobjectivity. COWNIE,supranote65,at5153(discussingCriticalLegalStudiesfromthisperspective).

103 Interdisciplinaryandmultidisciplinaryapproachesarealsoused. GUNNARFOLKESCHUPPERT,STAATSWISSENSCHAFT

(2003);GUNNARFOLKESCHUPPERT,VERWALTUNGSWISSENSCHAFT(2000).

104HarryT.Edwards,TheGrowingDisjunctionbetweenLegalEducationandtheLegalProfession,91MICH.L.REV.

34,3478(1992);Twiningetal.,supranote6,at931. AnotherreasonforthegapintheU.S.isthatlawschools

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cleardecline in judicialquotesofscholarlyworks,106

whichcanalsobeexplainedby thepopulartopicschosenbynewergenerationsoflegalacademics.

IntheU.K.,whereforalongtimesuchmechanismsdidnotexist,thisgapwasunknown,107

but the RAE (Research Assessment Exercise)108

is pushing legal scholarship in thisdirection.

109 Theunfavorablesideeffectofsuchchanges isthat lesstalentedpeoplewill

workasOracleScientists,asHumbleClerks,orasWisePragmatists,thusthattypeofblackletterlegalresearchisfading.

110

Anotherproblemisthattheselfperpetuating,selfreferential,andcloseddiscourseoftheSelfReflectiveswillbegintoliveitsownlife. Youaresuccessfulinthediscourseifyouaresuccessful inthediscourse. Thistautologicalwayofmeasuringsuccessresultsintryhardoriginality, sexy titles (which catch the eyes), provocative quotes, and counterintuitivetheses. Suchpaperswillprobablyneverbe readby anyone. The latter seems tobeafailure for the SelfReflective (and to a certain extent it is), but in a bureaucratized

scholarshipassessmentsystem itcanbecomesecondary: once theoutput is there (inagood lawreview), itscontentor influence(which ismoredifficulttomeasure)countless.So themainpoint inpublicationswillbe to look like somethingveryoriginal,paradigmshiftingandbrilliant inorder tobeaccepted forpublication.

111 In theU.S.,where such

behaviorisflourishing,[a]lawprofessorwithnoformalqualificationsinphilosophymightundertakeaprojectofremarkablephilosophicalambitionandpublishitinajournaleditedbyindividualswhonotonlyareequallyunlikelytohaveanyphilosophicalqualificationsbutwhohaveyettobecomequalifiedinlaw.

112 Asamatteroffact,youjusthavetolooklike

adeep thinker,youhave to sellyourproductonce,youdontgiveanyguarantees,and

then you can go to the next law review.113

The best ones can aim for a successful

106LouisJ.SiricoJr,TheCitingofLawReviewsbytheSupremeCourt: 197199,75IND.L.J.1009(2000).


108Since1986,approximatelyeveryfiveyears,thequalityofresearchatUKhighereducationinstitutionswillbe

evaluated on behalf of the higher education funding councils. The core of the evaluation is that fulltimemembersof thehighereducation institutionssubmita limitednumberofwritingswhichwillbe readbyotherlegalacademicsandevaluatedaccordingly. Formore informationseehttp://www.rae.ac.uk/. Thenameofthesystem is changing, but its relevant content (as to the topic of this paper) remains the same, seehttp://www.hefce.ac.uk/Research/ref/.

109COWNIE,supranote65,at136;Twiningetal.,supranote6,at925.


111DanielA. Farber,TheCaseAgainstBrilliance,70MINN.L.REV.917(1986).

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[Vol.12No.02780 Ge rman L aw J ou rna lprovocationinthedebate(andnotthesolutionofanyproblem),butthediscourseisjustsobig,thatyourvoiceseemshopelessly low intheloudcrowd. Itlookslikeyouworkforeternity,butyoujustworkforyournextpublication,becausethisisexpectedfromyouattheuniversity. From theambitionedeternal truth, sowillbeanunreadableamountofmediocreinterdisciplinary(lawand)scholarshipwithonlyafewqualityexceptions.

114

Ifyoualsomeasureinfluencebythenumberofcites,thenthepicturelooksabitdifferent.Thecitecountingmethodhasbeenheavilycriticizedas itdoesnotgivearealpictureofthequalityof legalscholarshiponeproduces.

115 Sometimesyougetcitedseveraltimes,

becauseeverybodywants to showhowwrongyouwere. Sometimesyougetcitesonlybecausetheotherscholarwantstofillupfootnotes. Oftentreatisesarequoted,whichjustsummarize the law, butwhich do not offer any new ideas. And if an article becomeswidelyaccepted,thenthedistortioncanworkinbothways: eitheryouwillbequotedbyeverybody,

116oryouwillnotbequotedbecauseyouropinionissowidelyacceptedthatit

isnotanymoreconnectedtoyoupersonally.117

Even a kind of partly ironic selfhelp literature has evolved to analyze the nature ofcitationsandtogiveadviceonhowtowincites. Theadviceisthefollowing:

Maxim One: (Make sure that you have already)Attend(ed)Harvard,Yale,ortheUniversityofChicagoLaw Schools. . . . Maxim Two: Publish all of yourarticles in the Harvard Law Review, the Yale LawJournal,ortheUniversityofChicagoLawReview. . . .MaximThree: Takea jobasanassistantprofessorat

the Harvard, Yale, or University of Chicago LawSchool.

118

Ifthethreemaximsarefollowed,thenyourarticlesaremuchmorelikelytogetcitesthanotherwise. Asamatteroffact,youdonotgetpositionsatgooduniversitiesbecauseyour

portionofU.S. lawreviewscontainbasicallyeitherSelfReflectivepapers,whichareaSelbstzweckwithnonoteven a pretendusefulness for the world outside academia. The rest of the papers fit Professor Someksdescription,andheisrightinthesensethatthemajorityofpapersfallsintohiscategory.

114Fora similarview, seeEdwards, supranote104,at36;Kenneth Lason,ScholarshipAmok: Excesses in the

PursuitofTruthandTenure,103HARV.L.REV.926(1990).

115Cass&Beerman,supranote99,at23.

116J.M.Balkin&SanfordLevinson,HowtoWinCitesandInfluencePeople,71CHI.KENTL.REV.843,845(1996)(By

gaininganincreasingpresenceinthat[discourse]space,thecanonicalworkmaycreateanincreasinglyhospitablei t f it d ti i th i d f f t d i )

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articlesareoftenquoted,butrather,theotherwayaround: Yougetquotedbecauseyouhaveapositionataprestigiousuniversity. Studentsoryoungscholarsaimingfortenurewillquoteyou,becausetheycannotjudgetheactualqualityofarticles,sotheygofortheproxies (i.e.,who published it and inwhich journal).

119 After they get a tenure, their

productivitywillnormallydecline so the realmarket forcites isnot theoneof tenuredprofessors (forwhomveryoften studentsdo the researchanyway),but rather studentsandassistantprofessors.

Youshouldalsoforgetaboutwhat is important fortherealworld;youshouldratheraskyourselfwhatcanbequoted: Ifwehaveonebasicpieceofadviceabouttopicselection,its this: Neverconfusewhats important in theworldoutside law schoolswithwhat isimportantinlawreviews.

120

Even if selfcites do not count inmost systems, it is still useful to advertise your ownwritings wherever it is possible, so you should not shy away from that. Thus for a

consciousandsuccessfulimpressionmanagementyouneedsomeshamelessness:

(1)Citeyourself,earlyandoften. (2)Getyourfriendstociteyouwheneveryoucan. . . . Werealizethat ittakes abitof chutzpah to shamelessly selfcite. Butafterawhile,youllgetoverit. Believeus,manyotherpeopleinthelegalacademyalreadyhave.... Friendsareusuallymore thanhappy tociteyou,especially ifyouoffertocitetheminreturn. Sometimes,however,

theyneedabitofcajolingdoingtherightthing. Makeyour friends feelguilty if theydontciteyou inalloftheir articles. Tell themhowhurt you are that theyare neglecting you and your ideas. If all else fails,accuse them of insensitivity, plagiarism, or worse.Sure itmaystrainthefriendship,butarenttheextracitesworthit?

121

Andfinally,theactualcontentofthearticlecountsevenless,thanweliketoadmitit. The

article rather needs new keywords, or it has to be able to symbolize amovement, anapproachorapoliticalstance,i.e.ithastobecomeanicon. Ifyoumanagetocatchthisrole,thanyourarticlewillbecomecanonicalandgetcitedagainandagainoftenwithout

119Id t 860

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[Vol.12No.02782 Ge rman L aw J ou rna lbeing read.

122 So,whenyouchoose topicorkeywords,you shouldbear this featureof

legalscholarlydiscourseinmind.

H. TellingthePublicWhattheLawIs: TheMediaStar

Ineverycountryweknowdifferent legalscholarsturninguponTVorbeing interviewed

regularly in newspapers. Some of them do have an otherwise respected scholarlyactivityAlan Dershowitz as aWise Pragmatist;123others just do notthe latter ones

shouldremainunnamedoutofcourtesy.

TheMediaStarhastobeunderstandable,evenat thecostofbeingprecise, incasesheevenhastobefunny. Hehastounderstandwhatthepeopleactuallydonotunderstand.Hehas an important function inbringing law closer to thepublic, thusmaking itmoretransparent or even democratic in an epistemological sense. It helps to run the legalsystemeitherbymakingaddresseesawareofthelaworbymakingthembelievethatthe

lawmakessenseandthatitisnotasecretandintrinsicknowledge. HeisnotrunningthelegalsystemfrominsideasaMediaStar,butisonlyhelpingoutsidersunderstandwhatishappeninginside.

Unfortunately, theircolleaguesdonotreally respecthimorat leastnot forhisbeingamediastar,butforhisotherscholarlyactivitiesmaybe becausehisaudiencearenotevenlawyers and because he consequently has to be imprecise in order to remainunderstandabletolaypersons. Itisalsoadangerousfunctioninthesensethatthepromptopinionsrequiredbythemediadonotleaveenoughtimetothinkaboutthemthoroughly,

soeventhebestscholarsmakemistakesmoreeasilyanddamagethustheirownscholarlyreputation.

TheMediaStarmightevenexpresshisor thegeneralpublicswishestochangethe law,anditmightevenhaveaneffect,ifpoliticiansthinkthatleavingunchangedthelawwouldoutragethepublic. AsopposedtotheLawReformerhedoesnotgivehisadviceinpersontopoliticiansaboutsuchchanges,heratherproclaimsinthemediawhatthepeoplewant.He can be considered as successful if he can influence publicdebates and if hismediacoverage ishigh. Hisviewsareaimedatthemoment;nobodyexpectsthemtobeuseful

longterm.

If the Media Star proposes to change the law, then she is usually using nonlegalarguments. If,however,shesimplyexplainswhatthelawis,thensheremainswithinthestrictlimitsoflegalreasoning. TheMediaStarcanexistincountrieswherethepressisfree

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andwhere the public is interested, but also in dictatorships if the regime decides thatpopulationneedssomelegaleducationthroughTV,etc.

TheMediaStarhasnowherenearafulltimejob;there isnocountrywherehewouldbedominantamongst legalacademics. Even ifsomebody isfulfillingthisfunctionasa legalscholar,heorshefulfilsoneoftheotherrolemodelsasmentionedabove. Ifnot,thensheor he is usually not even considered as a legal scholar, only as a media figure. Bydefinition,thereareonlyafewMediaStar legalscholars ineverycountry. HeisaMediaStarexactlybecausethemediacoveragepossibilitiesarelimitedandhemanagedtocatchaconsiderablepartofit.

I. WhichOneIstheIdealLegalScholar?

Askingwhichof the above rolemodels is the ideal is similar to askingwhich footballplayeristheidealone: thegoalkeeper,thedefender,themidfielderortheforward. They

dodifferent jobs,but theycouldall contribute toa better common result. Ina legalsystem,theroleoflegalscholarscouldbeperceivedassimilarlymanifold,butjustlikeinafootballteamyouhavetobecarefulaboutroleproportions. Ateamconsistingoftengoalkeepers isunlikely towin. Anda legalorder fullofProphets isunlikely to functionproperly. Sothequestionshouldbe:Whatistheidealproportionofrolemodels?

Butaswehaveseen,itisnotevenaboutuniversalproportions,asmuchdependsontheinstitutional contextandon thepotentialaudienceof the respectivecountrywhere thelegal scholar isworking. Some rolemodels are just not needed at all in certain legal

cultures,whileotherrolemodelsareneededabitlessorabitmore.124Therealtaskoflegalscholarsisthusonlypartlyanissueoflegaltheory;itisinanevenbiggerpartratheraproblemofcomparativelaw. IncontinentalEuropeancountriestheOracleScientistseemstobethetypicalandmostlyneeded legalscholar;intheU.K.,theHumbleServant; intheU.S., theWisePragmatist;and inmoderatedictatorshipsorpostdictatorial regimes theLawReformer;thoughinverysmallnumbers,wecandiscoveralmostevery(butnotevery)rolemodelinthenamedcountries.

TheSelfReflectiveseems tobe themost international roleofallashedoesnot try tohelptoruna legalsystemwhich isdifferentfromhisoriginal legalculturesothis istherole one can take up themost easilywhen changing country as a legal scholar. SelfReflectivescansimplygivenew insights intogeneralquestionsof lawor theycancoachotherlegalscholars.

125 Ifsheis inheroriginallegalculture,thenthesecondseemslikea

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[Vol.12No.02784 Ge rman L aw J ou rna lmoreoftenneededtask. Butnobodycanexpecta trulyEuropeanscholar in theU.S. totrainWise Pragmatists, not because he could not, but because itwould contradict hiswholearspoetica. Andontheotherhand,wedonotinviteAmericanscholarstoEuropeto coach us aboutmethodological problems of Rechtsdogmatik. We do it becausewewant to exercise our brainsby seeing somethingwhich is verydifferent fromwhatwebelieve in,andbesidessatisfyingthepurecuriosityaboutAmerican law,wealsohopetounderstandourveryowndifferingroleperceptionasalegalscholaralittlebitbetter.

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Annex

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Audience Ideal

Function

Perversion Aimed

Influence

onthe

Law

Prestigein

theGeneral

Legal

Community

and

Amongst

Other

Scholars

Measureof

Success

Timescale NonLegal

(Moralor

Policy)

Arguments

Preconditionof

Existence

Typical

Countriesand

Lawyers

Oracle

Scientist

academics,

judges

furthering

legal

certaintyby

buildinga

conceptual

system

forcingartificial

conceptual

absurditieson

reallife,losing

practical

relevance

high high perfectness

ofthe

system

aimedfor

eternity,

butin

practice

medium

term

verylimited,

disguised,

rather

through

vaguelegal

concepts

doctrinallywell

trainedjudiciary

German

(Austrian,

Swiss,Italian,

andSpanish)

law

professors,

Langdell,

Hohfeld

Prophet judges,

academics

community

buildingina

moralsense

hijackinglawby

ownpreferences

behindthemask

ofmoraldignity

high ratherhigh influence

onjudges

aimedfor

eternity,

butin

practice

medium

term

substantial

(moral

arguments)

prestigious

judiciarywhich

darestouse

alsonotstrictly

legal

considerations;

constitutional

limitsonthe

legislature

Dworkin,

humanrights

litigator

professors

Law

Reformer

politicians

(legislators)

promoting

social

development

orreform

extreme

instrumentalism,

serving

dictatorships

high medium influence

on

politicians

(legislator)

andreallife

successof

the

proposed

law

medium

(untilthe

social

problem

hasbeen

solved)

substantial central

legislatorwhich

isableand

willingtomake

newlaws

Bentham,

(post)socialist

countries

Humble

Clerk

attorneys,

law

students

documenting

whatthelaw

is(andnot

whatitought

tobe)

mindless

repetitionof

whatjudgesor

legislatorssaid

nearto

zero

low how

precisely

s/henotes

andrepeats

thelaw

(typically

judicial

decision)

rather

short,until

thenext

relevant

judicial

decision

zero growing

amountoflaw,

andthe

followingneed

todocumentit

Kirchmann,

Englishblack

letter

scholarship

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Audience IdealFunction Perversion Aimed

Influence

onthe

Law

Prestigeinthe

GeneralLegal

Communityand

AmongstOther

Scholars

Measureof

Success

Timescale NonLegal

(Moralor

Policy)

Arguments

Preconditionof

Existence

Typical

Countries

andLawyers

Wise

Pragmatist

judges advising

judgesabout

sociallybest

decisions

armchair

sociologistora

Prophet

disguisedas

social

scientist;cynic

aboutthe

normativityof

law

high high influence

onjudges

medium substantial

(policy

arguments)

prestigious

judiciarywhich

darestouse

alsonotstrictly

legal

considerations;

efficiency

problemswith

thelegislature

Posner,

traditionalUS

legal

scholarship

(legal

realists),law

&economics

Self

Reflective

fellow

academics

understanding

bettergeneral

questionsof

law;coaching

othertypesof

legalscholars

self

perpetuating

community

withoutany

practicaluse

forthelegal

system

zero,or

collateral

influence

ratherhigh(if

understandable)

publications

in

esteemed

(e.g.,peer

reviewed)

forums,

influence

on

academic

discourse

(quotations)

aimedfor

eternity,

butin

practice

mostly

rather

medium

term

substantial nospecific

preconditions,

but

bureaucratized

scholarship

assessment

inducesit

Kelsen(inhis

theoretical

writings),

Somek,

Jakab,major

partof

modernlegal

scholarshipat

topUS

universities

Media

Star

general

public

explainingthe

peoplewhat

thelawis,so

helpingthem

toacceptand

followit

puremedia

figurewithout

relevant

scholarlywork

andwithout

real

knowledge

medium low media

coverage,

influence

onpublic

political

debates

veryshort itdepends technical

development;

eitherfree

pressand

interested

public,ora

dictatorial

regimedeciding

forgeneral

legaleducation

throughTV

Alan

Dershowitz;

nowhere

dominant,

onlyasa

parttimejob;

parallelwork

inanyofthe

above

categories

Documents

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