Adam Podgórecki (1925–1998) was a sociologist and one of the founders of the

Research Committee on Sociology of Law Research Committee on Sociology of Law (RCSL) was established in 1962 by William M. Evan (University of Pennsylvania) and Adam Podgórecki (University of Warsaw), with the support of Renato Treves (University of Milan) during the congress of the In ...

. Podgórecki was also one of the founders of the first institute at Warsaw University which was devoted to the social scientific studies of law. He moved to Carlton University in Ottawa, Canada, and took up a Chair in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

, when the communists expelled him from his professorship for "anti-communist academic activities".Czarnota 2009. "He worked tirelessly and fearlessly" to ensure the independence of the

sociology of law The sociology of law (legal sociology, or law and society) is often described as a sub-discipline of sociology or an interdisciplinary approach within legal studies. Some see sociology of law as belonging "necessarily" to the field of sociology, ...

"against the pull of the large disciplines of

on the one side and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

on the other" and became one of the pioneers of the

after World War II. He carried out a systematic programme of socio-legal research throughout his academic life, wrote and published widely in both Polish and English and developed a unique socio-legal line of inquiry which can be traced back to Leon Petrazycki’s theory of “intuitive law”. According to Adam Czarnota, Podgórecki developed his social theory “in opposition to the Marxist theory of law and the state. He stressed the importance of empirical comparative material guided by theoretical hypothesis. Crucial for him was the typology, derived from Petrazycki, of intuitive and official law”. To honour the significant contribution made by Adam Podgórecki to the development of

and to shape the history of the

, its board decided in 2004 to establish the annual Adam Podgórecki Prize. It is awarded for outstanding achievements in socio-legal research.See http://www.isa-sociology.org/rc12_prize.htm

References

* Czarnota, Adam "Podgórecki, Adam" in ''Encyclopedia of Law and Society: American and Global Perspectives'' (Thousand Oaks: SAGE). * Podgórecki, Adam (1993) ''Polish Society''. Praeger. * Podgórecki, Adam (1991) ''A Sociological Theory of Law''. Milano: Dott. A. Giuffre Editore. * Podgórecki, Adam ''et al.'' (eds.) (1985) ''Social Systems and Legal Systems''. London: Crom Helm. * Podgórecki, Adam (1981) ''The Polish Burial of Marxist Ideology''. London Poets and Painters Press. * Podgórecki, Adam (1980) “Unrecognized Father of Sociology of Law: Leon Petrazycki.” ''Law and Society Review'' 15: 183-202. * Podgórecki, Adam and M. Los (1979) ''Multidimen Sociology''. London: Routledge and Keagan Paul. * Podgórecki, Adam (1973) ''Knowledge and Opinion about Law''. London: M. Robertson. * Podgórecki, Adam (1974) ''Law and Society''. London: Routledge. * Podgórecki, Adam (1990) ''The Reflections and Oracles of Si-Tien''. Ottawa: Carlton University Press. * Ziegert, Klaus A. (1977) "Adam Podgórecki's Sociology of Law: The Invisible Factors of the Functioning of Law Made Visible" in ''Law and Society Review'' 12: 151-80.

External links

Adam Podgórecki Prize: http://www.isa-sociology.org/rc12_prize.htm

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Podgorecki, Adam 1998 deaths 1925 births Sociologists of law