ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that it is useful to give the notion of ‘law’ in the title of this volume, Risk and the Law, a broader meaning than merely that of state law. It contends that we should take account of what some call non-state law, or alternatively informal law, unofficial law, folk law (Volksrecht), living law (lebendes Recht) or customary law, and the ways in which these other laws give protection against risk. More particularly it is suggested that there are fruitful possibilities for the investigation of social security provisions in the non-state laws of immigrant communities in the United Kingdom, especially in the recent past and the present. Any findings may have practical importance for the development of public and private state law regarding protection against risk.
