ABSTRACT
UNLIKE th e lega l norms tha t hav e arise n i n society, norms tha t have been created by the state are rarely being enforced by purely social compulsion. Th e state has need of its own peculiar means of power (Machtmittel) for this purpose, i.e. of its courts and other tribunals. An d for thi s reason , th e mos t importan t question i s whether th e stat e ha s suitabl e agencie s tha t ca n giv e effec t t o these norms . Th e questio n the n whethe r ther e i s stat e la w in any given state is not only a constitutional question but als o an administrative one . Th e significanc e o f th e statute s o f a stat e cannot b e understoo d unti l on e know s the agencie s whose func - tion i t is to put them into effect. Everythin g depends upon their educational an d cultura l endowment , honesty , skill , an d indus - try. Fo r thi s reaso n a lega l propositio n wil l b e give n widel y divergent interpretation s i n various section s o f huma n society . After larg e portion s o f English , French, an d Belgia n constitutional and procedural law had been transplante d int o foreign soi l in the nineteenth century , men became convinced that the y had effects quit e differen t fro m thos e the y woul d hav e a t home . Transplantation ha s bee n mos t successfu l i n the spher e of commercial law ; for commerc e i s regulate d essentiall y alik e every - where in Europe an d th e agencie s of the stat e have littl e t o do with i t.
