ABSTRACT
Niklas Luhmann’s contribution to the theory of law is well acknowledged: his account of the legal system as an autopoietic functional social system has had considerable impact on the discussion of modern law, in legal theory as well as in sociology of law. His thoughts on the phenomenon of-subjective-rights, however, also deserve attention.2 In his writings of the 1990s this topic is approached within the framework of an intriguing broader problematic: the relationship between social and psychic systems, that is between social communication and individual perceptions; more precisely, the issue of the structural coupling between these two types of systems. An issue referred to for example in the following quotation: “[If] a violation of subjective rights is [a condition] for litigation, a structural coupling of individual consciousness and irritations in the legal systems is [assured]” (Luhmann 1993/2004: 490/419).3
