Jurisdictional autonomy and the autonomy of law

End of Empire and the functional differentiation of law in 19 ^th-century Latin America

authored by

Manuel Bastias Saavedra

Abstract

This contribution discusses the collapse of the Iberian Empire and the transformation of legal regimes in 19

^th-century Latin America. While most of the literature on this period centers on the process of state-building and the reform of legal institutions, my discussion will focus on the important changes produced in the form of law according to Luhmann's theory of functional differentiation. The main argument is that systems theory can provide a re-evaluation of the history of law in the 19

^th and 20

^th centuries if one focuses on the idea of the autonomy of law. I argue that this way of reading the functioning of law is analogous to the legal historical re-evaluation of early-modern Iberian legal regimes through the idea of jurisdictional autonomy. Taken together both ways of understanding autonomy in legal observation direct our attention to shifts in law that go beyond the question of empire and nation-state building.

Organisation(s)

History Department

Type

Article

Journal

Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History

Volume

Pages

325-337

No. of pages

ISSN

1619-4993

Publication date

2018

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

History, Law

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.12946/rg26/325-337 (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{c5a17fa9ded842859a97d1af6d678f74,
title = "Jurisdictional autonomy and the autonomy of law: End of Empire and the functional differentiation of law in 19 th-century Latin America",
abstract = "This contribution discusses the collapse of the Iberian Empire and the transformation of legal regimes in 19 th-century Latin America. While most of the literature on this period centers on the process of state-building and the reform of legal institutions, my discussion will focus on the important changes produced in the form of law according to Luhmann's theory of functional differentiation. The main argument is that systems theory can provide a re-evaluation of the history of law in the 19 th and 20 th centuries if one focuses on the idea of the autonomy of law. I argue that this way of reading the functioning of law is analogous to the legal historical re-evaluation of early-modern Iberian legal regimes through the idea of jurisdictional autonomy. Taken together both ways of understanding autonomy in legal observation direct our attention to shifts in law that go beyond the question of empire and nation-state building.",
keywords = "Empire, Frontiers, Indigenous peoples, Latin America, Legal history",
author = "Saavedra, {Manuel Bastias}",
note = "Funding Information: * Research for this article was funded by a Georg Forster research fellow- ship granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.",
year = "2018",
doi = "10.12946/rg26/325-337",
language = "English",
volume = "26",
pages = "325--337",
journal = "Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History",
issn = "1619-4993",
publisher = "Klostermann",
}

Jurisdictional autonomy and the autonomy of law

End of Empire and the functional differentiation of law in 19 th-century Latin America

End of Empire and the functional differentiation of law in 19 ^th-century Latin America