Die Aktualität von Fullers Theorie in Europa heute

This study was written in connection with the recently published first German edition of Lon Fuller's book Morality of Law. The author argues that although Fuller’s legal theory is strongly linked to the institutional structure of the common law tradition, the general insights of the theory could also be fruitfully applied in European continental legal cultures. Among these general insights, the study highlights the importance of the principle of reciprocity, the concept of the internal morality of law, and Fuller’s conception of adjudication. The study concludes that Fuller’s conception of law is more helpful than legal positivism in understanding the difficulties of transitions to the rule of law and in recognising the pathological symptoms of legal systems drifting towards autocracy.