Рец. на кн.: Provencher G. Droit et communication: Liaisons constatées. Réflexions sur la relation entre la communication et le droit. Bruxelles: E. M. E., 2013. 204 p.

Известия высших учебных заведений. Правоведение. 2014. № 4. С. 270–276.

Antonov M.

The present paper is a review of the book “Law and Communication: Established Liaisons. Reflections on the Relation between Communication and Law” which was published in 2013 by a Canadian legal scholar Guillaume Provencher. In reviewer’s opinion, this book perfectly fits the research framework of “Law as Communication” studies actually developed by Professor of Quebec University Bjarne Melkevik. This explains the fact that Professor Melkevik has written a preface to this interesting research work of Provencher stressing the multidisciplinary and multicultural character of this research. In the reviewed book Provencher reflects on the role communicative theory of law can play in the debates on the basic philosophical-legal questions — such as validity of law or legitimacy of law. Defending the broad approach to law and to legal methodology, Provencher follows the works of Ricoeur, Bourdieu and other leading French philosophers, without leaving out of his sight other thinkers who belong to other scientific traditions, foremost that of the German social and legal philosophy — Luhmann, Habermas, Tönnies et alt. The working hypothesis of Provencher’s research is that there is a connecting link between law and communication. This link implies the common and coordinated action of the spheres of law and communication. This mutual engagement of law in communication and vice versa allows supposing that legal communication can be seen not only as an abstract notion but also as a factual field of coordination of human interaction. The author of the present review analyses the weak and strong points of this communicative research of the legal field undertaken by Provencher. He points out that the reviewed book does not take account of some important research works carried out by other leading scholars who also sought to understand law as communication. At the same time, the author recognizes the high innovative potential of the research work realized by Guillaume Provencher. 

Keywords: легитимность, legitimacy, правовая коммуникация, law and language, legal communication, право и язык