Artikel

Rechtssociologisch en juridisch pluralisme: de rechten van culturele minderheidsgroepen

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Abstract

Sociological and legal pluralism. The rights of cultural minorities - The study of minority law implies a juridical approach which overrules the primacy of state law. Or else the object of study is juridical pluralism, in which different orders exist one next to the other, but where their right of existence is entirely dependent upon their recognition by state law. This easily leads to a system of apartheid. If we want to avoid this risk, it is of utmost importance that a number of normative questions are probed, such as the choice between individualism and tradition. Sociological pluralism on the other hand takes law in action as a starting-point, a bottom-up approach, which is in contradiction to the classical top-down approach. Appropriate research tools must be selected. The legal-pluralistic approach hands us these tools. This approach was only possible after a certain evolution in the study of law, namely the study of law first of all had to purify itself from positivistic elements. The notion ’semi-autonomous social field’ is the central point, just like the spatiality of law. This allows us to focus on a number of legal spheres which would otherwise easily be overlooked. A number of legal cases prove this proposition by demonstrating how minorities deal with law in practice and how those minorities have their proper interpretation of state law. Next to this they also keep alive a great number of rules, on which state law has no impact whatsoever.

How to Cite:

Poppe, I., (1995) “Rechtssociologisch en juridisch pluralisme: de rechten van culturele minderheidsgroepen”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen 40(3), 241–267. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.95206