Introduction to the Problems of Legal Theory

Abstract

Hans Kelsen is considered to be one of the foremost legal theorists and philosophers of the 20th century. His writing made an important contribution to many areas, especially those of legal theory and international law. Over a number of decades, he developed an important legal theory which found its first complete exposition in Reine Rechtslehre, or Pure Theory of Law, the first edition of which was published in Vienna in 1934. This is the first English translation of that work. It covers such topics as law and morality, the legal system and its hierarchical structure, the identity of law and state, and international law.

Integrating the Disciplines of Law and Biology: Dealing with Clashing Paradigms

“…77 One of the founding fathers of the idea that law cannot be reduced to morality, let alone to genes, is the German philosopher of law Hans Kelsen. 78 Law is an autonomous coherent system in which legal norms relate to each other, institutionalise their own changes, and organise their applications. 79 This system starts with an authority that formulates a Grundnorm (basic norm) from which all other norms can be derived by blosse Gedankenoperation (pure thought).…”

Algunas reflexiones sobre metodología en Teoría del Derecho

“…Hart, ya discutida extensamente. Sin embargo, en otros países, el positivismo jurídico de Kelsen (Kelsen, 1967; es mucho mejor conocido que el de Hart, y la "teoría pura" de Kelsen es altamente influyente. El trabajo de Kelsen no se ajusta fácilmente en la estructura del análisis desarrollado hasta aquí, pero sus presupuestos metodológicos son de obvia importancia.…”

Five Kinds of Perspectives on Legal Institutions

“…That is, the content of an actual event corresponds to the content of a given norm. (Kelsen, 1992(Kelsen, (1934 Which kind of perspective is that described by Kelsen in this famous passage? It is a purely structural perspective, according to which we simply qualify facts and acts in legal terms.…”

“…Kelsen 1992Kelsen (1934, 12−3; 55ff.). It is clear that "validity" in this sense is nothing else than the fundamental concept of all kinds of norms-enactment procedures in law and not a simple rule-constituted concept relative to a specific legal system: All legal norms are produced to be "valid" in the sense of "binding within a given community".…”