COMPARATIVE SOCIOLOGY OF LAW: AN ANALYSIS OF THE FOUNDING PROVISIONS IN THE CONSTITUTIONS OF EU COUNTRIES

Abstract

Comparative sociology of law is an interdisciplinary field that examines different legal systems by analyzing them in a comparative manner within their social contexts. This approach investigates not only the normative dimension of law but also its reciprocal interactions with social structures. Aiming to understand how the cultural, historical, and political dynamics of societies are reflected in legal regulations, comparative sociology of law is particularly significant in questioning the social representativeness of foundational texts such as constitutions. This study examines the founding provisions contained in the constitutions of European Union member states within the framework of qualitative research methods. In the research process, sociological descriptive analysis and comparative legal techniques were employed together; alongside the normative content of founding provisions, their social contexts were also taken into consideration. By analyzing the relationships between constitutional founding expressions and concepts such as national identity, sovereignty, citizenship, and democracy, the sociological counterparts of these elements are revealed. The findings indicate that constitutional founding principles play a decisive role not only in the legal sphere but also in the production of social legitimacy. The study aims to offer a comparative perspective on the sociological foundations of legal norms.

Keywords

• Comparative legal sociology
• Foundational provisions
• Constitutional identity
• Sociological descriptive analysis
• European Union constitutions

KARŞILAŞTIRMALI HUKUK SOSYOLOJİSİ: AB ÜLKELERİ ANAYASALARINDAKİ KURUCU MADDELERİN ANALİZİ

Abstract

Karşılaştırmalı hukuk sosyolojisi, farklı hukuk sistemlerini toplumsal bağlamları içinde ele alarak mukayeseli biçimde inceleyen disiplinlerarası bir alandır. Bu yaklaşım, hukukun normatif boyutunun yanı sıra toplumsal yapılarla kurduğu karşılıklı etkileşimi de analiz etmektedir. Toplumların kültürel, tarihsel ve siyasal dinamiklerinin hukuki düzenlemelere nasıl yansıdığını anlamayı hedefleyen karşılaştırmalı hukuk sosyolojisi, özellikle anayasa gibi kurucu metinlerin toplumsal temsiliyetini sorgulamak açısından önem taşımaktadır. Bu çalışma, Avrupa Birliği üyesi ülkelerin anayasalarında yer alan kurucu maddeleri, nitel araştırma yöntemi çerçevesinde incelemektedir. Araştırma sürecinde sosyolojik betimsel analiz ile karşılaştırmalı hukuk teknikleri birlikte kullanılmış; kurucu hükümlerin normatif içeriği değerlendirilmiş; bu hükümlerin toplumsal bağlamları da analize dâhil edilmiştir. Anayasalarda yer alan kurucu ifadelerin ulusal kimlik, egemenlik, vatandaşlık ve demokrasi gibi kavramlarla kurduğu ilişkiler analiz edilerek, bu unsurların sosyolojik karşılıkları ortaya konmuştur. Elde edilen bulgular, anayasal kurucu ilkelerin yalnızca hukuki değil, toplumsal meşruiyetin üretilmesinde de belirleyici bir rol oynadığını göstermektedir. Çalışma, hukuk normlarının sosyolojik temellerine ilişkin karşılaştırmalı bir perspektif sunmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

• Karşılaştırmalı hukuk sosyolojisi
• Kurucu maddeler
• Anayasal kimlik
• Sosyolojik betimsel analiz
• Avrupa Birliği anayasaları

Ethical Statement

Tüm etik kurallara uyulmuştur.

References

1. BAŞLAR, Kemal. AB hukukunun üye devletlerin anayasalarındaki etkileri ve yapısal değişiklikler hakkında detaylı bilgi için bkz. “Avrupa Birliği’ne Katılım Sürecinde Türk Anayasası’nın Uyumlaştırılması Sorunu”, (2005), 1-19. https://www.anayasa.gen.tr/baslar-AB-anayasa.pdf. (Erişim tarihi: 10.05.2025).
2. BORA, Alfons. Sociology of Law: Towards a Responsive Theory. Wiesbaden: Springer, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-45781-5.
3. BOURDİEU, Pierre. “Chapter Four; Structures, Habitus, Power: Basis for a Theory of Symbolic Power.” In Culture/Power/History: A Reader in Contemporary Social Theory, edited by Nicholas B. Dirks, Geoff Eley, and Sherry B. Ortner, 155–199. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691228006-007.
4. CLARK, David S., ed. Comparative Law and Society. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012.
5. CONSTİTUTİON OF THE ITALİAN REPUBLİC. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/istituzione/costituzione_inglese.pdf.
6. COTTERRELL, Roger. “Comparative Sociology of Law.” SSRN Scholarly Paper. Social Science Research Network, December 2, 2011. 1-27. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1971611.
7. COTTERRELL, Roger. Jurisprudence and Socio-Legal Studies: Intersecting Fields. Abingdon: Routledge, 2024.
8. COUTU, Michel. Max Weber’s Interpretive Sociology of Law. London: Taylor & Francis, 2018.

9. DELMOTTE, Florence. “Identity, Identification, Habitus: A Process Sociology Approach.” In The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Human Sciences, edited by David McCallum, 725–748. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore, 2022.
10. FRANCE. Constitution du 4 octobre 1958. Légifrance. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000000571356/.
11. GARCÍA-VİLLEGAS, Mauricio. “Comparative Sociology of Law: Legal Fields, Legal Scholarships, and Social Sciences in Europe and the United States.” Law & Social Inquiry 31, no. 2 (2006): 343–382. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-4469.2006.00014.x.
12. GARCÍA-VİLLEGAS, MAURİCİO. The Powers of Law: A Comparative Analysis of Sociopolitical Legal Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
13. GERMANY. Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_gg/englisch_gg.html#p0020.
14. GESSNER, Volkmar ve David Nelken, eds. European Ways of Law: Towards a European Sociology of Law. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2007.
15. HUSA, Jaakko. A New Introduction to Comparative Law. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2015.
16. HUSA, Jaakko. Interdisciplinary Comparative Law: Rubbing Shoulders with the Neighbours or Standing Alone in a Crowd. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802209785.
17. HUSA, Jaakko. Introduction to Comparative Law. 2nd ed. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023.
18. JACOBSOHN, Gary Jeffrey. Constitutional Identity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010.
19. KALBERG, Stephen. “Max Weber’s types of rationality: Cornerstones for the analysis of rationalization processes in history.” American journal of sociology 85.5 (1980): 1145-1179.
20. LEGRAND, Pierre. “The Impossibility of ‘Legal Transplants’.” Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, vol. 4, no. 2, 1997, 111–124.
21. LOUGHLİN, Martin. “The Sociology of Constitutions.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 13 (2017): 225–240. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-110316-113518.
22. NELKEN, David. “Comparative Sociology of Law.” Law & Society. March 5, 2012. 1-15. https://lawandsocietyen.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/comparative-sociology-of-law/.
23. NELKEN, David. Using the Concept of Legal Culture. SSRN Scholarly Paper. Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network, December 1, 2011. https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1971611.
24. NELKEN, David. Comparative Criminal Justice and Globalization. London: Routledge, 2011.
25. OXFORD RESEARCH ENCYCLOPEDİAS. “Founding Treaties of the European Union and Their Reform”. https://oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-151. (Erişim tarihi: 08.05.2025).
26. PŘİBÁŇ, Jiří, ed. Research Handbook on the Sociology of Law. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020. PŘİBÁŇ, Jiří. Legal Symbolism: On Law, Time and European Identity. London: Routledge, 2007.
27. REİMANN, Mathias and Reinhard Zimmermann (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law. 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2019.
28. RİCHARDS, David A. J. Foundations of American Constitutionalism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
29. SİEMS, Mathias. Comparative Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
30. SMİTH, Kenneth. Emile Durkheim and the Collective Consciousness of Society: A Study in Criminology. Vol. 1. London: Anthem Press, 2014.
31. ŞİRİN, Tolga. “Anayasa’nın Başlangıç Kısmı Hakkında Bir Çözümleme”. Yeditepe Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi 18, sy. 2 (Ekim 2021): 1471-1498.
32. TOPÇUOĞLU, Hamide. Hukuk Sosyolojisi. İstanbul: AÜ HF Yayınları, 1969.
33. TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNİON, Article 2, (2016), 13-14. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX%3A12016M%2FTXT. (Erişim tarihi: 12.05.2025).
34. ZWEİGERT, Konrad and Hein Kötz. An Introduction to Comparative Law. 17th ed., translated by Tony Weir, Oxford University Press, 2020.