Mechanik der Entscheidung. Rechtsverwirklichung und Entscheidungsrichtigkeit durch die Rechtspraxis in Carl Schmitts "Gesetz und Urteil" (1912)

In order to aim a more complete understanding of Carl Schmitt's works, the author emphasizes the intellectual importance of Schmitt's first writings of 1910, which have been neglected by critics for being considered as merely technical. According to the author, on the contrary, it is possible to clarify the approach of Schmitt's mature thiking through them. In particular, the work written in 1912, "Gesetz und Urteil", contains an articulate description of the intuitive foundations of the decisionistic legal theory. Introducing with the concept of "Entschiedensein" the idea of the autonomous tendency of the 'random' moment in each decision, Schmitt lays the foundations of a general theory of law, which the author of "Gesetz und Urteil" however never completed. This theory considers law as being concretized in a particular case (= Konkretisierung des Rechts, concretization of rules). Besides, "Gesetz und Urteil" stated the idea of a juridical determination (Rechtsbestimmtheit), in which Schmitt sees teh key to free the legal theory from the German traditional methodology, making an absolutely original proposal to determine accurate criteria for juridical pratice (= Richtigkeit des Rechtspraxis, correctness of judgement).