探寻法律的界限--论卢曼晚期系统论法学思想

Exploring the Limits of Law:On the Late Stage of Luhmann’s System Theory of Law

卢曼(Luhmann)的系统论法学对中国法律转型问题具有重要的启示和借鉴意义。卢曼的系统论法学有早期和后期之分。早期作品受胡塞尔现象学和帕森斯结构功能主义启发较大,更聚焦于揭示世界的复杂性与偶联性的特征,法律系统与环境之间的复杂性落差及其对法律系统演化所带来的影响。后期作品则进一步借鉴了自创生生物学、形式理论、二阶观察等研究成果,将法律作为一种功能分化社会中的自创生的社会功能子系统进行观察和理解,更侧重于法律系统内部动态运作结构的分析,尤其是法律系统内部纲要与代码的区分所导致的法律系统的运作封闭性与认知开放性。在卢曼后期的系统论法学研究中,法律系统是一种具有自我观察、自我反思能力的社会系统,而法教义学、一般法理论则体现了法律系统自我观察和自我反思的能力,系统论法学是在二阶观察的层次上对法律系统观察的自我的二阶观察。

Luhmann’s system theory of law is very instructive for the discussion of the transformation of Chinese law and society.Luhmann’s theory is divided into two stages:the early stage and the late stage.On the early stage,impacted by Husserl’s phenomenology and Parsons’structural functionalism,this theory concentrated on the problem of complexity and contingency of world,the fall drop of complexity between legal system and environment,and its effect on the evolution of legal system.On the late stage,Luhmann absorbs many theories such as autopoiesis theory in biology,form theory,and second order of observation.In this stage,he considers law as one of the functional sub-system of the whole society,focus on the inner dynamic structure of operation of legal system,especially the inner difference of programm and code.In the late stage of Luhmann’s system theory,the legal system is a system of self-observation,and self-reflection,which is related to the inner-differentiation of legal doctrine and legal theory inside legal system.System theory of law observes legal system’s self-observation and self-reflection on the second order,that is,observation of the legal system’s observation.