The applicability of comparative concepts is still an open question posed to the discipline of comparative law.
Comparative concepts are concepts that are applied in micro-comparative research.
They are criteria on the basis of which the rules of different legal systems may be compared. The important distinction between functional or sociological concepts on the one hand and non-functional or immanent concepts on the other is made. This article offers a justification for the use of non-functional concepts and elaborates on their applicability. To enhance the precision of search results on the Internet, an area of practical application, non-functional concepts are useful. The article contains many examples to clarify the theoretical and practical aspects of a conceptual apparatus for comparative studies.