At the origins of the domestic civil theory of legal relations: sociologism and formalism in the concept of civil legal relations and subjective private law D.D. Grimm

Abstract

The fundamental tenants of the concepts of “legal relationship” and “subjective right” of the prominent pre-revolutionary Russian legal scholar and private law theorist prof. David D. Grimm have been analysed in this article. David Grimm’s concept is the earliest comprehensive Russian contribution to the theory of subjective right. David D. Grimm has established a long-standing tradition within the Russian private law scholarship to prioritise legal relationship over subjective right. It has been demonstrated that Grimm’s concept of legal relationship is an original and innovative attempt to synthesise sociological understanding of the genesis of private law with legal formalism, which has shown its best in David D. Grimm’s treatment of the concept of legal institution.