The Infrastructure of Normative Legitimacy in Domestic Soft Law – Sketching the Field

Abstract

Although the concept of soft law usually is associated with norms in an international context, the concept has always been an important element of domestic Swedish law. My research field – insurance law and financial markets law – is and has always been regulated to a considerable extent by various models of soft law. As a lawyer practising law within these fields, it is not enough to consider traditional hard law; one must also pay attention to recommendations, guidelines, complaint board decisions, statements on good conduct, and codes of conduct issued by authorities and agencies, industry organizations, alternative dispute boards or professional associations. Soft law norms are not binding in traditional terms. Nevertheless, the various branches and industries pay attention to the norms, respect them, follow them, use them to solve legal problems, refer to them in legal disputes, teach them to their employees and adjust their operations according to the norms. The guidelines, recommendations, codes of conduct, etc., are indeed law beyond the state. The fact that domestic soft law often has a normative impact on everyday legal affairs is unarguable.