ABSTRACT
T H E reaso n why the dominan t schoo l o f legal science so greatl y prefers th e lega l proposition to al l other lega l phenomena a s a n object o f investigation is tha t i t tacitl y assume s that th e whol e law is to be found in the legal propositions. I t is assumed furthermore that since , a t th e presen t time , all legal propositions are t o be foun d i n th e statutes , wher e the y ar e readil y accessibl e t o anyone, al l that i s necessary in order t o ge t a knowledge o f th e law of the present time is to gather the material from the statutes, to ascertain th e conten t o f this material by one's own individual interpretation, an d t o utilize thi s interpretation for the purposes of juristic literature and judicial decision. Occasionall y one meets with th e further idea that lega l propositions may arise independently o f statute . I n German y th e usua l belie f i s that the y ca n be foun d i n juristi c literature; i n France , i n judicia l decisions . "Customary law, " on the other hand, in the prevailing view, is so unimportant that n o effort i s being put fort h t o ascertain it s content b y scientifi c methods , muc h less to creat e method s fo r it s investigation. Onl y the teacher s of, an d writer s on, commercial law still concern themselves with usage, in this case, with business custom. Thi s explains why the effort s o f those who are carrying on researc h i n law at th e presen t tim e ar e ben t upo n ascertain - ing th e lega l propositions o f th e past , whic h ar e no t s o readil y accessible to u s a s thos e tha t ar e containe d i n modern statutes . I t i s believed that th e scientifi c result of the labor expended upo n the stud y of the law of the past consists not only in a knowledge of th e developmen t o f law, which o f course means only the de - velopment o f legal propositions, bu t als o in an historica l under - standing of the law of the present; for the law, i.e. according to the
tacit assumptio n th e lega l proposition s o f th e presen t time , i s rooted i n the past . These , I tak e i t , are th e line s o f thought o n which the method of research in the fiel d o f law has hithert o been based.
