Ricerc@Sapienza

This article juxtaposes Santi Romano’s legal-pluralist paradigm with other approaches to
illustrate why his theory contributes to contemporary debates in the international academic
environment. I first identify the differences between Romano and his contemporaries. In
this regard, it is my claim that his theory stands out from the rest as he was able to advocate a
pluralist conception of law without dissolving the legal into the social. I then put Romano’s
theory to the test of more recent literature on the issue with a view to arguing that it still
remains an unsurpassed contribution to a pluralist understanding of law. The article concludes
by contenting that Romano’s defence of the juristic method was meant to preserve
the transformative force of the legal practice.