Supra-Modern State Laws

Abstract

The post-modern legality’s challenge comprises of resurgence of local laws, dynamic legal pluralism, and the continuous construction of hybrid unofficial laws, all of which show the limits of modern state law. An escape from this socio-legal cul-de-sac requires a transcendence of the status quo and the challenges posed by post-modern legality. The new conceptualization of a legal system needs to be elastic, not rigid, in order to come to grips with reality, which is innovative and not anachronistic. It also needs to transcend internal fragmentation and the loss of autonomy. Otherwise, where the official law does not deal with reality, it would be unable to claim the loyalty of at least some Muslims. History has shown that the very existence of states is a must. Human beings have not found any another viable framework within which to preserve communal life. Thus, the problems of legal organization have to be discussed within the context of the state paradigm. However, that condition does not mean that one has to accept the presumptions of legal modernity. Dynamic legal pluralism as a post-modern phenomenon is here to stay. On the other hand, if the state is an apparatus of society, and the raison d’être of the state is to serve society; the state law has to be realistic, taking cognisance of the fact of post-modern legal conditions and religion, multiculturalism, transnationalism, globalization, internationalization, supranational entities, multiple modernities and resurgence of the local. Only in this way would state law be able to sustain its credibility. The state’s move should be a supra-modern multi-cultural response. I offer the term ‘supra-modern legality’ to mean a legality of the supra-contemporary situation. Supra-modernity does not have to be directly linked to modernity, which is an accidental result of the unique developments in the Western world. That perspective could be sustained in all eras, pre-modern, modern and post-modern. It is not a result of historical developments. From a higher point of view, which is supra-modern, the socio-legal sphere could still be seen as unified. But the perspective to be taken is very important. Differences could be seen as embroideries of a carpet or different colourful stones of a mosaic.

Keywords: Legal pluralism, diversity, pluralism, transnational law, glocal law

JEL Classification: Z10, Z12