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To award the first Prize, an ad hoc committee set up by the President of the RCSL, that was chaired by me and included Jean Van Houtte and Anne Boigeol, and Maria Los. There were a number of potential candidates who clearly deserved this honour, but after much deliberation and careful consideration of various candidates, the committee decided that this year’s prize should be awarded to Erhard Blankenburg.

Erhard Blankenburg has indeed offered a fundamental contribution to sociology of law throughout his life-long research and teaching. If we look at current bibliographies, it appears that his name is among those most frequently mentioned. Erhard is among those scholars who have never forgotten that in the social sciences, and in sociology of law especially, there is no theory without observation, in the same way that there is no observation without a theory. He has done extensive research both in Germany and in the Netherlands and has always integrated his findings into a theoretical view, with no ambition to build up an overall theory claiming to universal and indisputable validity. He has instead succeeded in constructing a solid middle range theory which is what sociology of law needs for its future development. His Mobilisierung des Recht a case in point.

Vincenzo Ferrari
Chair of the Podgòrecki Prize Committee 2005

(Source: RCSL Newsletter Autumn 2005)

Erhard Blankenburg died on March 28th 2018.