Abstract
This article summarizes what the author presented in the annual conference of Japanese Sociology of Law Association held in Kobe, 1988. Admitting the potential contribution of "Social Movement Approach" to the empirical research of new rights, the author stresses the basic understanding of the subject as uppermost prerequisite for designing meaningful researches. The following points are discussed: What are the main phases of social movement? What is the difference of two types of social movement claiming a new right? What frame of reference can we rely on when we get a holistic view of the phenomena?
