The place of legal tradition in Artur Kozak’s juriscentrist theory of law

Abstract

Objectives Evaluation of the role of legal tradition in Artur Kozak’s project of juriscentrism. Material and methods Analysis of the works of Artur Kozak and of the secondary literature about his works. Results The place of legal tradition in Artur Kozak's theory is crucial. Conclusions The role played by tradition in Kozak’s theoretical project cannot be underestimated. It can even be said that legal tradition permeates the entire juriscentrist enterprise. Legal tradition can be identified with Kozak’s ius – the crystallised rules of the legal practice. Legal tradition is the foundation of legal method and at the same time a sour of its legitimacy. Legal tradition is the basis of the identity of the legal community. The social construction of a lawyer can be described as his socialisation within the legal tradition. Not so much in the positive law contained in codes, statutes and case-law, but rather in the legal tradition, characterised by a long-term existence, as opposed to the ephemeral manifestations of the juridical produced by legislators and judges. Tradition is, therefore, embodied in the legal community, and the legal community is, at the same time, the bearer of legal tradition. This allows to characterise juriscentrism as a form of legal traditionalism.

Keywords

• juriscentrism
• artur kozak
• legal tradition
• legal culture
• legal theory
• philosophy of law
• sociology of law