Research project Power, law and the ”Rechtsstaat”

The German concept of a formal “Rechtsstaat” – a theory that was formulated by the German law professor Friedrich Julius Stahl in the 1830s - has met with a barrage of criticism during the last century or so. Paradoxically, the critique is based on two diametrically opposite arguments: 

1. The “Rechtsstaat” inhibits the sovereignty of the people and is, hence, anti-democratic (for example, the critique formulated by the German legal scholar Carl Schmitt), or 
2. The Rechtsstaat provides insufficient protection against “evil” leaders and does not provide material justice in the application of law (see, for instance, Gustav Radbruch’s view on the law-state).

Therefore, the aim of this project is to study the historical development of the doctrine of the “Rechtsstaat”. This will be done with the help of the juxtaposition power – justice.