Mature Law in the Nordic countries: Critical perspectives on social work in the context of public authority

This chapter deals with the criticism within the modern (mature) legal system and is inspired by recent Nordic legal theory. By clarifying and supporting the possibility of internal legal criticism within a limited framework, the theory can potentially help to keep the legal system sharp and up to date as an autonomous system in a hypercomplex society. In the Nordic countries, a large part of social work unfolds in a (public) welfare state context, and the social worker becomes a legal actor with all that entails. In addition to briefly explaining the mentioned theory, the purpose of the chapter is to show how Nordic legal theory has made itself relevant in a practice context where complexity (and criticism) must be unfolded and handled daily. In other words, the question posed in the chapter is: how theory can contribute to the articulation of modern legal complexity and support the considerations (and critical reflections) that need to be made.