KELSEN'S THEORIES OF LAW

Kelsen's Theories of Law

Kelsen's Theories of Law

Introduction

Hans Kelsen (1881-1973) was a renowned jurist, philosopher of law, an expert on comparative constitutional law and public, international law. He was professor of law at various universities throughout his life. Drafted the Constitution of Austria in 1920 after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was for some years between the wars, judge of the Austrian Supreme Court. He belonged to Austrians generation born in the late nineteenth century who excelled in virtually every branch of human knowledge.

Kelsen is recognized as the greatest law theorist of the twentieth century. He was an opponent of the totalitarian regimes of his time (fascists and Marxists). His interest was to define the seminal knowledge of law as a phenomenon independent of any other consideration of psychological, sociological, ethical or ideological aspects. Kelsen's intention was to separate radically therefore, the moral law or any other "pollution" extra-legal and do well, "pure". Not in, vain is the finest representative of modern legal positivism (legal positivism), this stream emerged in the nineteenth century as a reaction to the vast and diverse tradition of alleged secular natural law (natural law).

Hans Kelsen made every effort to discredit natural law as irrational and outdated compared to the superiority of positive law. Value judgments (including the idea of justice) were nothing more than to Kelsen, simple expressions of irrationality according to legal theory pursued a strict science of positive norms. Kelsen wanted to turn their object of study, in this case law in a true science of the spirit

The 'Pure Theory of Law' Kelsen was first exhibited in 1911. The right should not have another valid basis and management that the very theory of law, understood as "pure" in that it would stand by itself and not rely on extralegal values. There would be a natural right, but that any standard would be based on a previous one substantive proposal accepted by the community. In this sense, admitted the important role of sociology and ethics in law making process and content of laws. In 1940, Kelsen immigrated to the United States, where he taught at Harvard University and at Berkeley in California. Principles of International Law in a legal unit ran the world based on international law, which is reflected in the laws of each country. Hans Kelsen died in Berkeley California on April 20, 1973.

Kelsen, a lawyer specializing in legitimate philosophy, constitutional law and international law, have been one of the largest contributors to international law, In Kelsen's Pure Theory of Law developed a strict legal method by which you want to remove any psychological, sociological and theological legal construction, and narrow the mission of the science of an exclusive right to study possible regulatory forms and key connections among them.

Among the most characteristic aspects of his thinking include the following:

First, the main point is the norm. The structure of the constitutional standard is a hypothetical proposition. Hence, to involve a constitutional rule should be, the right belongs to ...