Senmoderne samfund er præget af større normativ og retlig pluralisme end sociologisk teori, der tager udgangspunkt i begrebet om retsstaten, giver indtryk af. Derfor er vi nødt til at gentænke retsstaten som komponent i et transnationalt retssamfund. Jürgen Habermas’ teori om den demokratiske retsstat skygger således for, hvorledes senmoderne samfund er normativt og retligt pluralistiske. Teorier om retlig pluralisme repræsenterer et konkurrerende perspektiv. Her begribes retten ikke som en enhed, men som overlappende systemer af normer. Den postmodernistiske portugisiske retssociolog Boaven¬tura Santos argumenterer således for, at retten skal analyseres gennem et matrix bestående af lokale, nationale og globale retsnormer. Artiklen illustrerer dette gennem konkrete eksempler fra det multikulturelle samfund og globaliseringen. På lokalt niveau er brugen af uformel islamisk ret blandt muslimske minoriteter et eksempel. På transnationalt niveau udfordrer uformel konfliktløsning blandt multinationale selskaber samt de internationale men¬ne¬skerettigheder den statslige retsorden. Deskriptivt må gentænkningen af rets¬staten derfor tage udgangspunkt i retspluralismen. Normativt må en sådan gentænkning sigte mod at sikre de forskellige retsordners demokratiske legitimitet. Som ideal kan tanken om rettens enhed dog fortsat være fornuftig at holde fast i, fordi et sammenhængende retssystem er en vigtig komponent i den sociale integration af multikulturelle og globaliserede samfund.
ENGELSK ABSTRACT:
Frederik Thuesen: From Rechtsstaat to Transnational Legality. Legal Pluralism, Multiculturalism and Globalisation
The article argues that we have to rethink the concept of the “Rechtsstaat“ as a component in a transnational society where various legalities interact. Sociological theory such as Jürgen Habermas’ theory of the democratic “Rechtsstaat“ veils the way in which late modern societies are normatively and legally pluralistic. Theories of legal pluralism represent competing sociological perspectives, conceiving of law not as a unity but as overlapping and intertwining systems of norms. Thus the Portuguese scholar Boaventura Santos argues that law should be analysed through the matrix of local, national and global legalities. The article illustrates this point through concrete examples relating to multiculturalism and globalisation. On a local level it points to the use of informal Islamic law among immigrant minorities. On a transnational level informal conflict-resolution among multinational companies and human rights challenges the state-based legal order. Therefore, a rethinking of the idea of a society based on principles of “rule of law“ should descriptively start from legal plurality. Normatively, it should aim at securing the democratic legitimacy of those centres where law is produced. Finally, I argue that unity of law as a principle is not a completely far-fetched or oppressive ideal, but necessary to the integration of society.
Key words: Legal pluralism, globalization, human rights, rule of law, unity of law, multiculturalism.
