ABSTRACT
Legal pluralism plays a central role in contemporary legal sociology. This chapter considers the conceptions of legal pluralism supported by three of its eminent representatives: Eugen Ehrlich, Georges Gurvitch and Gunther Teubner. It highlights the strong points of Weber's analysis of the plurality of law, which makes it possible to overcome some of these difficulties. Weber is often portrayed as completely hostile to Ehrlich's ideas, but that is a superficial view revealing only part of the truth. The central presupposition of a pluralist approach to law rests on the distinction between state law and non-state law, a presupposition that can be highlighted by the founders of sociology of law, such as Ehrlich and Weber. Weber gives several examples of the non-state legal orders, such as boycotts organized in relation to credit and housing, ecclesiastical institutions, debts of honour, professions and clubs and associations and other economic groups. The status of international law has evolved a lot since Weber's time.
