It is the singularly most notable achievement of Emile Durkheim that he worked consistently and successfully towards the institutionalization of sociology as an academic discipline. In the sharpness of his formulation of the material and formal subject matter of sociology, in the innovativeness of his methodology, and in the ability to build a sociological school of thought, Durkheim knows no equals. It is the good fortune of the sociology of law to be able to rely not only on Durkheim's sociological project in general, but also on his contributions to the sociological study of law in particular.

Durkheim's analysis of law in his sociological study of the moral foundations of the division of labor is well known among sociologists. To empirically examine the transformation of society from the mechanical to the organic type, Durkheim turned to the evolution of law as an indicator of the changing moral foundations of society. Durkheim's central concern, to show that modern society is characterized by a solidarity that preserves individualism, remains valuable today. The value of this approach is not exhausted with reference to the empirical adequacy of Durkheim's theses on law, such as concerning the evolution from repressive to restitutive law. For in addition to sketching an empirical model of law in society, Durkheim's sociology of law also encompasses an innovative approach to the study of law. This approach centrally revolves around the recognition that the normative dimension of society enables both evaluative as well as scholarly perspectives.