On Legal Dogmatics: History And Method

Legal dogmatics is a term frequently mentioned in national circle, but for it”s definition, origin, meanings and functions, there is no clear answer given. Even in Germany, scholars haven’t it cleared, and talk it in a vague frame. The paper holds that it isn’t a branch in law science, and it isn’t suitable to parallel it with legal philosophy, legal theory and legal sociology, but runs through German law education, law study and law practice as a most important tradition in German law science.The paper consists of four chapters or three parts. The first two chapters is a historical review of legal dogmatics, and Chapter 3 tries to draw a boundary to it, to analyze the thinking schemata of it in the process of law application in Chapter 4, making a better demonstration of the practical guidance of it.Chapter 1 & 2 investigate the origin of dogma, dogmatics and legal dogmatics, analyzing the different viewpoints to its thinking schemata. The paper tries to make clear that the traditional legal dogmatics takes itself as the influence of mythology to law with somewhat correctness, but it covers the fact that since the Ancient Greek-Roman Age, the notion of dogmatics has been discussed in various branches. This investigation shows that the notion of dogmatics has no clear definition but a brief frame.Chapter 3 gives a brief boundary of legal dogmatics, and holds it to be a thinking model, basing itself on respecting current positive law, taking legal methodology as its tool, settling practical problems in law its mighty duty, keeping and reconstructing a united law order. Such a branch of law science is vital to law professionals, which keeps a distance with philosophy, politics, historical study, etc., uncovering its unique and independent characteristics of law science with irreplaceable functions in its theoretical and practical fields.Chapter 4 aims to uncover the concrete application to the notion of legal dogmatics, following with the systemic thinking from the above chapter. It consists of two passages, the first to investigate the way of deduction of judicial units through logical way, mainly touching upon the place of norms in texts, legal topics and deductions in logics. The second turns to the abstract questions in systemic thinking, which includes the union of law order, the legal interpretation to constitutionality, law-making and unconventional rules in judicial practices.The paper applies the historical and positive methodology, with the intention of uncovering the various questions met in the theory and practice of German legal dogmatics, arousing a reflection to national scholars, and providing some experiences and lessons in national scholars and professionals.