Law - Law

Japanese: 法学 - ほうがく

The study of law. Also called jurisprudenz. In the narrow sense, it refers to legal hermeneutics, and in the broad sense, it refers to the study of law in general. In the broad sense, jurisprudenz includes not only legal hermeneutics, but also legal philosophy, sociology of law, and comparative jurisprudence, and some scholars also include legal policy, legal logic, legal psychology, and legal anthropology. In German, legal hermeneutics in the narrow sense is called Jurisprudenz, while in the broad sense, jurisprudence in general is called Rechtswissenschaft, and the two terms are sometimes used to distinguish between the two.

[Ryuichi Nagao]

history

It is believed that legal studies were already being studied professionally during the ancient Chinese dynasties, and it is said that there were people in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia who made legal knowledge their profession. We can also see the development of legal theory and legislative techniques in ancient Greece through the writings of Plato and Aristotle, but the direct ancestor of modern legal studies is ancient Roman legal studies.

(1) Ancient Roman Jurisprudence The Romans were a "legal people" who were said to be harsh in exercising their rights and obedient to such harshness when their rights were exercised. In ancient Greece, the legal profession was considered to be the preserve of a low race who were after money, but in ancient Rome, it was held in the highest respect (Cicero). Knowledge of law was originally monopolized by the priesthood, but this monopoly was broken around the 3rd century BC, and classical Roman jurisprudence was established under the influence of Greek philosophy and rhetoric. In particular, in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, lawyers were given the authority to provide public judgments on important legal issues through the "right of answer" (jus respondendi), and these were compiled as precedents and became the basis of the Justinian Code (529).

(2) Modern Roman Jurisprudence Roman law, which had been forgotten for a time in the Middle Ages, was revived in 12th-century Italy by the Glossatoren, including Irnerius and Accursius (1185?-1263), and the Kommentatoren and Post-Glossatoren opened the way for its practical application. While the Kommentatoren devoted themselves to the textual and logical study of the Code of Justinian, the Kommentatoren, including Bartholus (1314-55/57) and Baldus (1327-1400), tried to apply Roman law in a modern way, and their Consilia had a great influence on practice. The demand for "universal and solid law" (jus certum et universale) of early capitalism, combined with the idea that Roman law was the law of the Holy Roman Empire, led to students from all over the world gathering around Bartholus, who became the driving force behind the spread of Roman law. Its methodology was strongly influenced by scholastic theology, and is said to be the origin of the "theological nature of jurisprudence." In the 16th century, the "Humanisten" school, which sought to study Roman law from a purely historical perspective, also appeared, mainly in France. The representative of this school was Cujas (1520-90).

(3) Subsequent Continental Law Studies After the adoption of Roman law, Continental Law studies developed with Roman law as its axis. The theory of sovereignty that justified the absolutist state also sought its authority in the words of the Code of Justinian, "princeps legibus solutus est," meaning "the sovereign is free from the law," and the natural law code that flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries was heavily colored by Roman law in its content. Even Savigny's historical jurisprudence considered Roman law to be the law to be found in history. In Germany, the Code of Justinian was considered the current law as it was until the establishment of the Civil Code (1900), and Pandecten jurisprudence, which was dedicated to commenting on and systematizing it, flourished. After the French Revolution, in the early 19th century, Napoleon organized a legal code in France, and the school of commentary, the école d'exégèse, which was absorbed in commentaries on the code, flourished in 19th century French jurisprudence, while in Germany, conceptual jurisprudence, which attempted to systematize legal theory that could logically derive any solution, flourished. Both schools were criticized by Jenny and Saleilles in France and by Jhering in Germany for turning a blind eye to social reality, and schools such as the theory of interest and the theory of liberty became influential. All of them advocated the importance of social reality in addition to provisions and logic, and from this a new academic field called the sociology of law emerged.

(4) Anglo-American jurisprudence In the UK, which is based on case law, the task of legal education is to organize and compile legal precedents, and legal scholars also focused their efforts on this. Important legal scholars such as Coke and Braxton made major contributions to case compilation. The utilitarian philosopher Bentham criticized this case law system, and Austin, who belonged to his lineage, attempted to systematize legal theory under the influence of German jurisprudence and established a school of jurisprudence known as analytical jurisprudence. On the other hand, Maine and Maitland formed the historical jurisprudence school, and jurisprudence methods became more diverse from the second half of the 19th century. The situation in the US was similar to that in the UK, but from the end of the 19th century, Holmes, Pound and others advocated pragmatism jurisprudence, which called for the application of law in accordance with the needs of society. In the 1930s, under its influence, realism jurisprudence emerged, which was skeptical of the reality of the legal system.

[Ryuichi Nagao]

Various fields of law

Traditionally, jurisprudence meant legal hermeneutics, but fields engaged in the fundamental and theoretical study of law, such as legal philosophy, sociology of law, legal history, and comparative law, have also grown in importance over the past century. The former are sometimes distinguished as positive law or practical law, while the latter are called basic law or theoretical law. An example of the traditional course organization in a law department at a Japanese university is shown in the table below . Among these, criminal policy is not legal hermeneutics but focuses on the sociological study of criminal phenomena, but is often classified as criminal science due to its system. At universities such as the University of Tokyo, there is a course called "national law," which focuses on the general theory of the state and law or comparative constitutional law.

[Ryuichi Nagao]

Legal Hermeneutics

Legal hermeneutics is an academic field that recognizes and systematizes the meaning of positive law, with the premise of its application in trials and administrative practice. Its purpose is to find the best legal solution, and the Roman jurist Ulpian called jurisprudence ars boni et aequi (the art of good and fairness). Therefore, its essence is not scientific knowledge but something that can be used in practice, but like science, it aims for objectivity in that it tries to make trials and administrative actions subject to objective order as much as possible. Legal hermeneutics was established under the influence of medieval theology, and is said to be theological in its methodology. In German, legal hermeneutics is still called Rechtsdogmatik (legal dogma). Just as theology is given the Bible as a given authority, jurisprudence is given the legal code. Both theology and jurisprudence are tasked with systematizing such authority, and the methods of systematization are very similar in both. The omnipotent God of theology and the sovereign state of jurisprudence, the theory of persona in theology and the theory of legal personality in jurisprudence, etc. are in a parallel relationship. In fact, it is said that various theories discussed in the General Treatise on Criminal Law were born under the influence of causal theory in theology.

Jurisprudence was once recognized as a real authority. In Rome, the answers of legal scholars who were granted the "right of reply" by the emperor were binding on the parties involved and became precedents for the future. Even in modern times, the "common opinion" (communisopinio) of influential legal scholars was recognized as a valid source of law. For a long time in Germany, university law faculties played the role of the supreme court on important issues, and in response to consultations, "judgment committees" (Spruchausschuss) were set up within the faculty council to answer these inquiries.

This authoritative field of legal hermeneutics has also come under various criticism since the 19th century. Kirchmann's book The Valuelessness of Legal Hermeneutics as a Science (1847) lamented the insignificance of legal science, which is at the mercy of legislators' arbitrary whims, saying that "if the legislator corrected three words, the whole library would be trashed," and went so far as to say that legal scholars' passionate debates are usually about poorly written provisions due to legislators' incompetence, and that legal scholars are like maggots living in the rotten pillars of positive law. Kirchmann's criticism was directed at the peripheralization of legal science, which has been cut off from politics, but legal positivists such as the public law scholar Lavant strongly argued that legal science should be cut off from politics, and that legal scholars should limit their tasks to recognizing and logically systematizing statutory law, and not get involved in pointless political discussions. This argument, linked to Max Weber's early 20th century claim to exclude value judgments from social sciences, gave rise to the radical claim that legal hermeneutics is a dogmatic study like theology and cannot be a science in itself, and that only the empirical science of sociology of law can be a science of law. In response to this, Kelsen argued that in addition to empirical sciences such as sociology of law, normative sciences that focus on norms are possible, and that jurisprudence can also be a normative science that recognizes legal norms. Specifically, jurisprudence recognizes the "framework" permitted by legal norms, and leaves it up to practitioners to choose which of the various possibilities within that frame to choose, but there is criticism that this frame is not very clear. The American legal philosopher Pound characterized jurisprudence as social engineering, and argued that it is a kind of applied science that aims to harmoniously reflect the various needs of society in justice.

The first person to seriously address this issue in Japan was Miyazawa Toshiyoshi, who in his book "Theories in Legal Studies" (1936) classified legal theories into "theoretical theories" and "interpretive theories," arguing that the latter is the result of practical motivation and not scientific cognition. After the Second World War, Kurusu Saburo and others raised doubts about the "objectivity of legal hermeneutics," and the practical nature of legal hermeneutics and the need to incorporate sociolegal awareness are generally accepted. In recent years, the system of legal studies that is deductive from the provisions has been shunned, and there is a strong tendency to consider real legal problems to be the alpha and omega of legal hermeneutics. Some people consider legal discussion to be a kind of practical reasoning that leads to rational decisions.

[Ryuichi Nagao]

Legal Education

They can be divided into those that are intended to train lawyers and those that are intended to train general working people. In the United States, law schools have the primary purpose of training lawyers, but in Japan, the majority of university law graduates do not enter the legal profession, so it could be said that law schools' educational objectives are primarily the latter. Related to this is the fact that many lectures are incorporated in adjacent fields such as basic law, politics, economics, sociology, and history, and that students are also required to take a separate general education course. One institution that trains lawyers is the Legal Training and Research Institute, which provides legal professional education to those who pass the bar exam. Those who will become judges, prosecutors, and lawyers must go through this course.

[Ryuichi Nagao]

"Introduction to Legal Studies" by Kotaro Tanaka (1953, Gakuseisha) " "Law Studies as a Science" by Takeyoshi Kawashima (1964, Kobundo) " "Law and Society" by Junichi Aomi (Chuko Shinsho)

[References] | Law | Marxist Jurisprudence | Roman Law

Example of course arrangement in a university law department (Japan) [Table]
©Shogakukan ">

Example of course arrangement in a university law department (Japan) [Table]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

法に関する学問。法律学ともいう。狭い意味では法解釈学を、広い意味では法に関する学問一般をさす。広い意味の法学には、法解釈学のほかに、法哲学、法社会学、比較法学を含み、さらに法政策学、法論理学、法心理学、法人類学などを含めようとする学者もある。ドイツ語では狭い意味の法解釈学をJurisprudenzとよび、広い意味の法学一般をさす場合Rechtswissenschaftとよんで使い分けることがある。

［長尾龍一］

歴史

中国の古代王朝時代にすでに法学は専門的に研究されていたと考えられ、古代エジプトやメソポタミアにも法の知識を職業とする者があったと伝えられる。またプラトンやアリストテレスなどの著作を通じて古代ギリシアにおける法理論や立法技術の発達のようすをうかがうことができるが、近代法学の直系の先祖は古代ローマ法学である。

（1）古代ローマ法学　ローマ人は権利の行使に際しては過酷であり、権利の行使を受けるにあたってはその過酷さに従順であったといわれる「法的民族」で、法律職は古代ギリシアにおいては金目当ての低劣な人種のものとされていたが、古代ローマにおいては最高の尊敬を払われたという（キケロ）。法の知識は元来神官団に独占されていたが、紀元前3世紀ごろよりこの独占が破れ、やがてギリシア哲学や修辞学などの影響のもとでローマ古典法学が成立した。とくに紀元1、2世紀には、法律家は「解答権」jus respondendiによって重要な法律問題に公権的な判断を示す権威が認められ、それらは先例として編集されて『ユスティニアヌス法典』（529）の基礎となった。

（2）近代ローマ法学　中世に一時忘れられていたローマ法は、12世紀イタリアにおいてイルネリウス、アクルシウス（1185？―1263）などの注釈学派Glossatorenによって復活され、注解学派Kommentatorenないし後期注釈学派Post-Glossatorenによって実務への適用への道が開かれた。注釈学派が『ユスティニアヌス法典』の文献的、論理的研究に専心したのに対し、バルトルス（1314―55／57）やバルドゥス（1327―1400）などの注解学派は、ローマ法の近代的適用に努め、勧告Consiliaによって実務に大きな影響をもった。初期資本主義の「普遍かつ堅固な法」jus certum et universaleへの要請と、ローマ法は神聖ローマ帝国の法であるという思想が相まって、各国からバルトルスのもとに学徒が集まり、ローマ法の普及の担い手となった。その方法論はスコラ神学の強い影響下にあり、それが「法学の神学性」の起源となったといわれる。なお16世紀ごろにはフランスを中心に、純粋な歴史的見地からローマ法を研究しようとする「人文学派」Humanistenも登場した。その代表者はキュジャス（1520―90）である。

（3）その後の大陸法学　ローマ法の継受以後の大陸法学は、ローマ法を基軸として展開した。絶対主義国家を正当化した主権論も「君主は法から解放されている」princeps legibus solutus estという『ユスティニアヌス法典』のことばに典拠を求めたし、17、8世紀に栄えた自然法典もその内容においてはローマ法の色彩が濃かった。サビニーの歴史法学でさえ、歴史のなかにみいださるべき法としてはローマ法が考えられていた。ドイツにおいては民法典制定（1900）まで、『ユスティニアヌス法典』がそのまま現行法とされ、それの注解と体系化に従事するパンデクテン法学が栄えた。フランス革命後、19世紀初頭のフランスではナポレオンの手で法典が整備され、フランス19世紀法学はその注釈に没頭する注釈学派école d'exégèseが栄えたが、ドイツにおいてはあらゆる解決を論理的に導き出せるような法理論の体系化を試みる概念法学が栄えた。いずれも社会の現実から目を反らしたものとして、フランスではジェニー、サレイユら、ドイツではイェーリングらの批判を浴び、利益法論、自由法論などの諸学派が有力となった。彼らはいずれも条文と論理のほかの社会的現実の重視を唱え、そこから法社会学という新たな学問分野が登場した。

（4）英米法学　判例法主義にたつイギリスでは、法学教育の任務は判例を整理・編纂(へんさん)するところにあり、法学者の努力もまたそれに集中した。コーク、ブラクストンら重要な法学者の主要な業績は判例編纂にある。この判例法主義を批判したのが功利主義哲学者ベンサムであり、その系譜に属するオースティンは、ドイツ法学の影響のもとで法理論の体系化を試み、分析法学（派）といわれる学派を樹立した。他方メイン、メイトランドらが歴史法学（派）を形成し、19世紀後半より法学の方法も多様化した。アメリカでも法学の状況はイギリスと類似していたが、19世紀末よりホームズ、パウンドらによってプラグマティズム法学が唱えられ、社会の要請に即した法の運用が求められた。1930年代にはその影響下で法制度の現実に懐疑を向けるリアリズム法学が登場した。

［長尾龍一］

法学の諸分野

伝統的には法学とは法解釈学を意味したが、法哲学、法社会学、法史学、比較法学など、法の基礎的、理論的研究に従事する分野も過去1世紀の過程を通じて重要性を増してきた。前者を実定法学、実用法学、後者を基礎法学、理論法学などとよんで区別することがある。日本の大学の法学部の伝統的な講座編成の一例を表に示す。このなかで、刑事政策は法解釈学ではなく、犯罪現象の社会学的研究を中心とするものであるが、制度上刑事学に分類されることが多い。東京大学などには「国法学」という講座があるが、これは国家と法の一般理論ないし比較憲法学を主題とする。

［長尾龍一］

法解釈学

法解釈学は、裁判や行政実務への適用を前提として実定法の意味を認識し体系化する学問分野である。その目的は最善の法的解決をみいだすところにあり、ローマの法学者ウルピアヌスは法学を「善と衡平の技術」ars boni et aequiとよんでいる。したがって、その本質は科学的認識ではなく実践に使えるものであるが、裁判や行政行為を可能な限り客観的秩序に服させようとするものであるという点で、科学と同様客観性を志向している。法解釈学は中世の神学の影響を受けて成立したもので、方法論において神学性を帯びているといわれる。ドイツ語では現在でも法解釈学を法教義学Rechtsdogmatikとよぶ。神学には所与の権威として聖書などが与えられているように、法学には法典が与えられている。神学も法学もこのような権威の体系化を任務としており、体系化の方法も両者は酷似している。神学の全能の神と法学の主権的国家、神学における人格(ペルソナ)の理論と法学の法人格論などは並行関係にある。そして実際刑法総論で論じられるもろもろの理論は神学の決疑論の影響下に生まれたといわれる。

　法学はかつて現実的権威を認められた。ローマにおいて皇帝に「解答権」を認められた法学者の解答は、当事者を拘束し、後の先例となった。近代においても有力な法学者の「通説」communisopinioは法源としての効力を認められた。ドイツでは長い間大学の法学部は重要問題について最高裁判所の役割を果たし、諮問に応じて教授会に「判決委員会」Spruchausschussを設けてこれに答えた。

　この権威ある法解釈学も19世紀以後さまざまな批判の対象となるに至った。キルヒマンの著書『法解釈学の学としての無価値性』（1847）は立法者の恣意(しい)に翻弄(ほんろう)される法学の矮小(わいしょう)性を嘆いたもので、「立法者が三語を訂正すれば全図書館は反古(ほご)になる」といい、法学者の熱烈な論争の対象となるのは、たいてい立法者の不手際で条文のできの悪いところだとして、法学者は実定法という腐った柱に巣くううじ虫だと極論する。キルヒマンの批判は、政治から切断された法学が末梢(まっしょう)化していることに向けられたが、公法学者ラーバントらの法実証主義者は、法学を政治から切断し、法学者は制定法の認識と論理的体系化に任務を限定すべきで、とりとめのない政治談議に巻き込まれるべきでないと強く主張した。この主張は20世紀初頭のマックス・ウェーバーの社会科学よりの価値判断排除の主張と結び付き、法解釈学は神学と同様の教義学であって本来科学たりえないもので、経験科学たる法社会学だけが法の科学たりうるという過激な主張を生み出した。それに対しケルゼンは、法社会学のような経験科学のほかに、規範を対象とする規範科学が可能であり、法学も法規範を認識する規範科学となりうると説いた。具体的には法学は法規範の許容する「枠」を認識し、その枠内のさまざまな可能性のどれを選ぶかは実務家にゆだねるというものであるが、この枠はそれほど明確でないという批判がある。アメリカの法哲学者パウンドは法学を社会工学social engineeringとして性格づけ、社会のもろもろの必要を調和的に司法に反映させるための一種の応用科学であると説いた。

　日本でこの問題を最初に本格的に取り上げたのは宮沢俊義(としよし)で、その著『法律学における「学説」』（1936）において、法学説を「理論学説」と「解釈学説」に分類し、後者は実践的意欲の作用で、科学的認識作用ではないとしている。第二次世界大戦後も来栖(くるす)三郎らによって「法解釈学の客観性」への疑問が提起され、法解釈学の実践的性格、法社会学的認識を取り入れる必要性などが一般的に承認されている。また近年は、条文から演繹(えんえき)的に論ずる法学の体系は敬遠され、現実の法律問題こそ法解釈学のアルファでありオメガであるとする傾向が強い。法的論議を合理的決定に至る実践的推論の一種としてとらえる人々もある。

［長尾龍一］

法学教育

法律家養成を前提とするものと、一般の社会人を養成するためのものとに分けられる。アメリカのロー・スクールは法律家養成を主目的とするが、日本では大学法学部卒業生の大部分は法律職につかず、その教育目的は主として後者にあるといえよう。基礎法学や政治学、経済学、社会学、歴史学など隣接領域の講義が多く取り入れられ、また一般教養課程を別に履習する義務が課されているのもこのことと関連する。法律家養成の機関としては司法研修所があり、司法試験合格者について法律専門家としての教育を施している。裁判官、検察官、弁護士となる者はこの課程を経なければならない。

［長尾龍一］

『田中耕太郎著『法律学概論』（1953・学生社）』▽『川島武宜著『科学としての法律学』（1964・弘文堂）』▽『碧海純一著『法と社会』（中公新書）』

[参照項目] | 法 | マルクス主義法学 | ローマ法

大学法学部の講座編成の例（日本）〔表〕

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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