IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0209844.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Network structure reveals patterns of legal complexity in human society: The case of the Constitutional legal network

Author

Listed:
  • Bokwon Lee
  • Kyu-Min Lee
  • Jae-Suk Yang

Abstract

Complexity in nature has been broadly found not only in physical and biological systems but also in social and economic systems. Although many studies have examined complex systems and helped us understand real-world complexity, the investigation to the legal complexity has not been thoroughly investigated. Here we introduce a novel approach to studying complex legal systems using complex network approaches. On the basis of the bipartite relations among Constitution articles and Court decisions, we built a complex legal network and found the system shows the heterogeneous structure as generally observed in many complex social systems. By treating legal networks as unique political regimes, we examine whether structural properties of the systems have been influenced as the society changes, or not. On one hand, there is a core structure in all legal networks regardless of any social circumstances. On the other hand, with relative comparison among different regimes’ networks, we could identify characteristic structural properties that reveal their identity. Our analysis would contribute to provide a better understanding of legal complexity and practical guidelines for use in various legal and social applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Bokwon Lee & Kyu-Min Lee & Jae-Suk Yang, 2019. "Network structure reveals patterns of legal complexity in human society: The case of the Constitutional legal network," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0209844
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209844
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0209844
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0209844&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0209844?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Min, Byungjoon & Lee, Sangchul & Lee, Kyu-Min & Goh, K.-I., 2015. "Link overlap, viability, and mutual percolation in multiplex networks," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 49-58.
    2. Bommarito, Michael J. & Katz, Daniel M., 2010. "A mathematical approach to the study of the United States Code," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 389(19), pages 4195-4200.
    3. Daniel Martin Katz & Michael J Bommarito II & Josh Blackman, 2017. "A general approach for predicting the behavior of the Supreme Court of the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Serguei Saavedra & Felix Reed-Tsochas & Brian Uzzi, 2009. "A simple model of bipartite cooperation for ecological and organizational networks," Nature, Nature, vol. 457(7228), pages 463-466, January.
    5. Philip Anderson, 1999. "Perspective: Complexity Theory and Organization Science," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(3), pages 216-232, June.
    6. Réka Albert & Hawoong Jeong & Albert-László Barabási, 2000. "Error and attack tolerance of complex networks," Nature, Nature, vol. 406(6794), pages 378-382, July.
    7. Andrew G. Haldane & Robert M. May, 2011. "Systemic risk in banking ecosystems," Nature, Nature, vol. 469(7330), pages 351-355, January.
    8. V. Zlatic & G. Bianconi & A. Díaz-Guilera & D. Garlaschelli & F. Rao & G. Caldarelli, 2009. "On the rich-club effect in dense and weighted networks," The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, Springer;EDP Sciences, vol. 67(3), pages 271-275, February.
    9. Fowler, James H. & Johnson, Timothy R. & Spriggs, James F. & Jeon, Sangick & Wahlbeck, Paul J., 2007. "Network Analysis and the Law: Measuring the Legal Importance of Precedents at the U.S. Supreme Court," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(3), pages 324-346, July.
    10. Maslov, Sergei & Sneppen, Kim & Zaliznyak, Alexei, 2004. "Detection of topological patterns in complex networks: correlation profile of the internet," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 333(C), pages 529-540.
    11. Tamas Vicsek, 2002. "Complexity: The bigger picture," Nature, Nature, vol. 418(6894), pages 131-131, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wang, Weihong & Chen, MingMing & Min, Yong & Jin, Xiaogang, 2016. "Structural diversity effects of multilayer networks on the threshold of interacting epidemics," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 443(C), pages 254-262.
    2. Carlos León, 2020. "Banks in Colombia: How Homogeneous Are They?," Revista de Economía del Rosario, Universidad del Rosario, vol. 23(2), pages 1-32, December.
    3. Kyu-Min Lee & Jae-Suk Yang & Gunn Kim & Jaesung Lee & Kwang-Il Goh & In-mook Kim, 2011. "Impact of the Topology of Global Macroeconomic Network on the Spreading of Economic Crises," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(3), pages 1-11, March.
    4. Kyu-Min Lee & Kwang-Il Goh, 2016. "Strength of weak layers in cascading failures on multiplex networks: case of the international trade network," Papers 1603.05181, arXiv.org, revised May 2016.
    5. Berndsen, Ron J. & León, Carlos & Renneboog, Luc, 2018. "Financial stability in networks of financial institutions and market infrastructures," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 120-135.
    6. Michel Alexandre & Gilberto Tadeu Lima & Luca Riccetti & Alberto Russo, 2023. "The financial network channel of monetary policy transmission: an agent-based model," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 18(3), pages 533-571, July.
    7. Aldasoro, Iñaki & Gambacorta, Leonardo & Giudici, Paolo & Leach, Thomas, 2022. "The drivers of cyber risk," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    8. Qingmin Hao & Jim Huangnan Shen & Chien-Chiang Lee, 2023. "Risk contagion of bank-firm loan network: evidence from China," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(2), pages 341-361, June.
    9. Singha, Joydeep & Ramaswamy, Ramakrishna, 2022. "Phase-locking in k-partite networks of delay-coupled oscillators," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    10. Ali Kharrazi & Brian D. Fath & Harald Katzmair, 2016. "Advancing Empirical Approaches to the Concept of Resilience: A Critical Examination of Panarchy, Ecological Information, and Statistical Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-17, September.
    11. Gai, Prasanna & Haldane, Andrew & Kapadia, Sujit, 2011. "Complexity, concentration and contagion," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(5), pages 453-470.
    12. Daniel Fricke & Thomas Lux, 2015. "On the distribution of links in the interbank network: evidence from the e-MID overnight money market," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 1463-1495, December.
    13. Luu, Duc Thi & Lux, Thomas & Yanovski, Boyan, 2017. "Structural correlations in the Italian overnight money market: An analysis based on network configuration models," Economics Working Papers 2017-02, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Department of Economics.
    14. León, Carlos & Berndsen, Ron J., 2014. "Rethinking financial stability: Challenges arising from financial networks’ modular scale-free architecture," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 241-256.
    15. Gao, Bo & Deng, Zhenghong & Zhao, Dawei, 2016. "Competing spreading processes and immunization in multiplex networks," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 175-181.
    16. Vinko Zlatić & Giampaolo Gabbi & Hrvoje Abraham, 2015. "Reduction of Systemic Risk by Means of Pigouvian Taxation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-18, July.
    17. Stippinger, Marcell & Kertész, János, 2014. "Enhancing resilience of interdependent networks by healing," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 416(C), pages 481-487.
    18. Matteo Smerlak & Brady Stoll & Agam Gupta & James S Magdanz, 2015. "Mapping Systemic Risk: Critical Degree and Failures Distribution in Financial Networks," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-15, July.
    19. Didier Wernli & Lucas Böttcher & Flore Vanackere & Yuliya Kaspiarovich & Maria Masood & Nicolas Levrat, 2023. "Understanding and governing global systemic crises in the 21st century: A complexity perspective," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 14(2), pages 207-228, May.
    20. Hüser, Anne-Caroline, 2016. "Too interconnected to fail: A survey of the Interbank Networks literature," SAFE Working Paper Series 91, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE, revised 2016.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0209844. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.