'Alexander Somek, at the height of his powers, has already enjoyed a long and distinguished career. He is, unlike most of us, altogether at home in both worlds - the Anglophone world with its myopia and the Continental European world with its vast perspectives but, all too often, with analysis that falls short of the mark. Alexander Somek brings the best of both worlds together, and his manuscript is a welcome effort to redress the balance in favor of, as he puts it, a post-legal positivist theory of law.' Stanley L. Paulson, Washington University, St. Louis 'A mature masterpiece equaling Hart's Concept of Law or Dworkins Law's Empire in jurisprudential ambition, originality and sophistication, The Legal Relation is the most important Continental European contribution to jurisprudence in the new millennium.' Mattias Kumm, Inge Rennert Proffessor of Law at the New York University School of Law and Professor of Global Public Law in the Berlin Social Science Center 'With this bold and provocative book, Somek brilliantly reimagines legal positivism. Every legal philosopher must read this book. The argument is imaginative, penetrating, and ultimately convincing.' Dennis Patterson, Board of Governors Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School, Camden, New Jersey