Rechtswerk

Rechtswerk is a German term that refers to the totality of legal norms, statutes, case law and other sources that together constitute a body of law in a given jurisdiction or field. The word combines “Recht” (law) with “Werk” (work or creation), emphasizing the productive and systematic character of the legal system. In scholarly usage, Rechtswerk is often contrasted with Rechtsordnung, which denotes the overall order or structure of law, whereas Rechtswerk highlights the concrete enactments and jurisprudential output that make up that order.

The concept emerged in 19th‑century legal theory, particularly within the German Historical School, which sought to describe law as an organic product of cultural and social forces. Early jurists used Rechtswerk to stress that law is not merely abstract rules but a living corpus that evolves through legislation, judicial decisions and academic commentary. The term was later adopted by comparative law scholars to refer to the identifiable set of normative materials that can be compared across different legal systems.

In contemporary legal studies, Rechtswerk is employed in discussions of legal codification, the scope of statutory law versus case law, and the analysis of specific legal domains such as civil, criminal or administrative law. The notion assists scholars and practitioners in delineating the material substance of law from its broader institutional and philosophical contexts.