The Theory of Sovereignty Restated

By: W. J. Rees Rees starts his narrative by acknowledging that some has used the word sovereignas to mean the same with the word authority, although he noted that legal theorists in their works showed some distinction to them. For one, according to John Austin and Lord Lindsay, the word sovereigntyis notproperly concerned with questions of force or power. […]

Hard Cases (Excerpt)

By: Ronald Dworkin Dworkin starts by saying that what he is writing is a revision of an inaugural lecture he gave at Oxford. Moving forward, he says that in science, there is a theory that is focused on the growth of science, where it is argued that from time to time, the achievement of asingle man […]

Your Business as Thinkers

By: Oliver Wendell Holmes Right from the beginning, Holmes throws a philosophical question: What is all this to my soul?What have you said to show that I can reach my own spiritual possibilities through such a door as this? Here, of course, the door can be likened to becoming a lawyer. Holmes seems to be asking, what […]

The Growth of Science in Society

By: Michael Polanyi Polanyi focused on the warrant of Scientific Judgment, where he says that until today, there are no strict criteria for what scientific truth is, or that we have no accepted theory of scientific knowledge. He relates this to the concept of logical positivism, which aims to find a strict definition of validity and meaning. […]

The Law as Literature

By: Oliver Wendell Holmes Holmes started this portion of his essay by saying that unlike many that came before him who wrote about legal education, he did not mention the most usual subjects talked about, namely textbooks and case systems. He says that he is more focused on the theory, rather than the practical details, […]

The Concept of Law Preface

By: HLA Hart Hart starts the preface of his book The Concept of Law, by stating straightforwardly that the aim of the book is to see the interplay of law, coercion, andmoralityas different by related social phenomena, which he says is designed not only for students of law, but also for those focusing in the field of political […]

Postscript

Part 1 (The Nature of Legal Theory):Hart started his postscript by saying that he will attempt to reply to some of the criticisms present by Professor Dworkin in the latter’s different works such as Taking Rights Seriously, A Matter of Principle, and Law’s Empire.What Hart established in the book is to provide a generaland descriptivetheory of what law is, meaning it is […]

Chapter 10: International Law

Part 1 (Sources of Doubt): Hart introduces the concept of International Lawas something that is although consistent with the usage of the expression of law, the absence of an international legislature, courts with compulsory jurisdiction, and centrally organized sanctions have inspired misgivings. It is arguable that due to the lack of these institutions, international law not only lacks […]

Chapter 9: Laws and Morals

Part 1 (Natural Law and Legal Positivism): Hart started the chapter by saying that morality somehow influences the creation of laws in one way or another; a legal system must have some conformity with morality or justice and must have a conviction that there is a moral obligation to obey it. Two relations are discussed in […]

Chapter 8: Justice and Morality

Hart started this chapter by recalling the different concepts that were discussed in previous chapters, such as threats, obedience, habits, etc. Other topics mentioned was the concept of a general habit that of a social rule, including the internal and external aspects of rules manifested by the people subjected to these rules. The elucidation then […]