Gesetzgebungskunst

In trying to judge what 'good' lawmaking is, jurists observe the subject-matter of their daily job critically and from a distance: They no longer ask only how things are, but also how things should be. Can they and should they be allowed to ask these questions? The Begriffsjurisprudenz, which was predominant in the late historical school of law, answered this question in the negative, but a previously unnoticed 'legislative' countermovement had already begun before 1900. Sigrid Emmenegger reconstructs the discourse among legal experts in the context of science and society in the German Empire. In doing so, she reveals that between legal practice, legal philosophy and epistemology there is a methodological pluralism doctrine of 'the art of legislation' which provides a wealth of subjects for current discussions on 'good' lawmaking.