ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the differences between sociological and philosophical approaches to law. Interactional law is law that comes into existence through a gradual process of interaction in which a standard of conduct emerges that is understood as giving rise to legal obligations. Legal interactionism, holds that the obligatory force of enacted law and contract is embedded in an interactional pattern. Especially in the Civil Law tradition, this fiction of the legislature as the ultimate source of all law is easily upheld and most civil codes contain provisions declaring customary law and contract only valid under certain conditions, thus claiming that all law ultimately derives its obligatory force from legislation. Legal sociology clearly belongs to the first camp, recognizing the importance of variation and processes of change in the study of law. The practical wisdom and nuances of the legal professions and the mediating role of academic doctrinal research may also provide important starting points for socio-legal and philosophical research.
