Law without the state (also called transnational stateless law, stateless law, or private legal orderings) is law made primarily outside of the power of a state.
Such law may be established in several ways:
- It may emerge in systems such as existed in feudal Europe prior to the emergence of the modern nation state with the treaty of Westphalia.[1][2]
- It can be established as customary law such as that practiced by indigenous communities.[3][4]
- Non-state actors may create it,[5][6] for instance in the form of "soft law".
- According to various anarchist theories, it could result from how a society would organize itself without formal government.[7]
- Stateless law extends across a variety of legal domains, from trade and economic law to environmental legislation and social norms. This diversity is evident in the application of stateless legal principles at the international level, where non-state actors such as multinational corporations, NGOs, and international organizations develop their own regulatory frameworks that have cross-border effectiveness. For instance, international arbitration and contractual law, operating outside the jurisdiction of any single state, contribute to the formation of a stateless legal system that facilitates global trade and international cooperation. Similarly, indigenous legal systems, based on centuries-old traditions and customs, demonstrate the ability of stateless legal orders to ensure justice and social cohesion within communities. These examples highlight the significant role stateless law plays in the global legal landscape and its contribution to resolving conflicts beyond the limits of state legal systems.[8]
