Spain

The activities in Spain involved with law and society research derive from interrelated elements that are associated with the shaping of legal sociology as a scientific discipline within the scope of general sociology. These activities deal with the reality of law as a social phenomenon linked to other social phenomena.

Following Renato Treves (1907–1992), both theoretical and practical work has attempted to identify and analyze social elements in law, while other research has sought to individualize the position and function of [Page 1425]law within society. Studies involving both sociologists and lawyers enhance these two dimensions, building what one may call sociology in the law.

The main Spanish center for these activities is located in Oñati, Guipúzcoa, in Basque Country at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law (IISL). It has organized meetings and seminars at advanced levels throughout the year. The IISL also provides a master's program in legal sociology. On the research front, the IISL has a large library and programs for visiting and residential scholars. Associated with its seminars, it has published many important books in Spanish, including Transformaciones del Estado y del Derecho contemporáneo (Transformation of the State and Contemporary Law) (1998), El Derecho en la Teoría Social (Law in Social Theory) (2001), Ciudadanía, voluntariado y participación (Citizenship, Voluntary Organizations, and Participation) (2001), Identidades culturales y derechos humanos (Cultural Identities and Human Rights) (2002), and Derechos fundamentales, movimientos sociales y participación (Fundamental Rights, Social Movements and Participation) (2003).

The IISL has also published books in English, such as Adapting Legal Cultures (2001), Women in the World's Legal Professions (2003), Healing the Wounds: Essays on the Reconstruction of Societies after War (2004), and Imaginary Boundaries of Justice: Social and Legal Justice across Disciplines (2004).

There have also been some false starts, such as the Association for the Analysis of Law and Society, currently not operational. However, other efforts have been more successful. These include the Law and Society Network, coordinated by Pilar Giménez Alcover, Mario Ruiz Sanz, and Raúl Susín Beltrán, and the Legal Sociology Laboratory at the University of Zaragoza, led by Manuel Calvo García, which disseminates the work of authors in legal sociology.

As part of university syllabi for the first law degree, some universities include courses in legal sociology as an optional subject within the area of philosophy of law. Legal sociology is also commonly part of a doctoral course of studies. Together with those scholars mentioned earlier, professors most active in legal sociology include Joaquín Almoguera Carreres, María José Añón Roig, Ignacio Aymerich Ojea, Pompeu Casanovas i Romeu, Javier de Lucas Martín, María José Fariñas Dulce, Juan Antonio García Amado, Andrés García Inda, Evaristo Prieto Navarro, and Julián Sauquillo González. Their principal interests concern issues associated with citizenship, immigration, multicultural development, social movements, constitutional rights, and social theory.