Ernst-Joachim Mestmäcker

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ernst-Joachim Mestmäcker, Max-Planck-Institute for Foreign Private and Private International Law, Hamburg, reviews legal theories of Richard Posner and Friedrich A. von Hayek, who are famous for their contribution to law and economcis.

I. The issus

II. Posner’s economic theory of law „from the outside“

III. New economic and the old European enlightenment

IV. Law and economics in perspective

V. Efficiency: The purpose of legal rules or the product of competition (Posner v. Hayek)

VI. Science of law or the relevance of normative experiences

VII. Limits of rational choice

VIII. On the frontiers of Posner’s legal theory

Bibliography