Das Recht der Singularitäten

Modern legal thinking has typically been geared towards the universal. Following the paradigm of formal rationality, the particularities of single cases are subjected to general laws and legal methods. By deriving concrete decisions from general norms, law stabilizes the normative expectations of society. The generality of the law and the principle of equality before the law guarantee each individual a treatment free from arbitrariness. In advanced modernity, this individualism of general and equal rights is confronted with an alternative concept of legal thinking, which is geared towards particularities. Post-modern critiques of law deconstruct the generality of law and call for recognition and appreciation of the singularities of the individual case. In the face of a societal »crisis of the general«, public law could get into the maelstrom of a now dominant logic of the particular. The above article discusses this scenario by investigating paradigms and practices of public law. An important shift has taken place in the field of fundamental rights. Conceptualized as general and equal claims to personal freedom, rights now tend to be understood as political tools used to actively trump and change majoritarian decisions in favor of singular concerns and needs. Matters of general interest which used to be considered as political questions are now treated as singular cases that are subject to judicial micromanagement. Based on such observations of the law, the article draws parallels to the socio-historical diagnosis of the »society of singularities«, as described by sociologist Andreas Reckwitz. The article concludes that the law of the present is not yet guided by a pure logic of singularities. Instead, public law remains committed to striking an appropriate balance between upholding the generality and formal rationality of law and recognizing the particularities of social reality.