Rechtsregime

Rechtsregime, literally “legal regime,” is a term used in legal and political science to describe the system of normative rules, institutions, procedures, and enforcement mechanisms that constitute a particular legal order within a state or international context. It encompasses constitutional provisions, statutory law, administrative regulations, judicial interpretations, and the practical practices through which authority is exercised and social conduct is governed.

The concept is broader than the related idea of a Rechtsstaat, or constitutional state. While a Rechtsstaat emphasizes the supremacy of law and the protection of individual rights against arbitrary power, a Rechtsregime focuses on the actual functioning and coherence of the legal order that underpins government and society. A Rechtsregime may be liberal, democratic, authoritarian, or transitional, depending on how power is exercised under the law and how independent and effective legal institutions are in practice.

Scholars use the term to analyze how regimes legitimize authority, regulate political competition, and manage security, administration, and economic activity through law. It is relevant in discussions of rule-of-law quality, legal reform, state capacity, and the operation of emergency or exceptional powers where the normal constitutional order is modified but legal mechanisms remain in place to varying degrees.

Internationally, the term also applies to legal regimes that govern interactions among states, such as human rights regimes, trade regimes, or arms-control regimes. These regimes consist of sets of rules, norms, and institutions that structure behavior beyond the boundaries of a single state.