Summary

The social law codification project that was initiated by the Ministry of Justice and is now directed by the Ministry of Social Affairs has lead to the need in Estonia to undertake an academic legal analysis of social security law as an independent discipline. In this article, the author provides an overview of the definition of social law. The author does so by examining the objectives of codification, in particular which norms are sufficiently closely related to be collected in a systematic code. In the opinion of the author, a critical number of common traits can be found in norms regulating protection for (a) individuals or their family members (b) by a public authority (c) against social risks, which (d) are provided through monetary or non-monetary benefits (social benefits). Social law entails both definitions and referring norms as well as authorising, organisational and financing norms.

In analysing the definition of social law the author also examines the need to systematise this area of law and explains some of the bases for the codification of social law in a systemic Social Law Code.