ABSTRACT
The differentiation and integration of law is necessarily a function of the differentiation and integration of ethics and power. Law is almost independent of the differentiation of power into general and special: generalized power structures are generally legal; specialized power structures may easily exist without being legal. The relationship between the several categories of law may be expressed in the following formula: State law determines the limits of the validity of social law. State law is law directly created by the State. It depends upon the degree of complexity of a State whether State law forms one or more levels. Autonomous law and customary law would be appropriate names for these two classes of social law. Autonomous law appears in many varieties. It may be based upon: one-sided declarations; two-sided agreements or conventions; or corporate acts of groups endowed with power. The problem of identity is studied intensively by the modern sociology of law.
