Forty years after his death, Hans Kelsen (1881-1973) remains one of the most discussed and influential legal philosophers of our time. This collection of new essays takes Kelsen's Pure Theory of Law as a stimulus, aiming to move forward the debate on several central issues in contemporary jurisprudence. The essays in Part I address legal validity, the normativity of law, and Kelsen's famous but puzzling idea of a legal system's 'basic norm'. Part II engages with the difficult issues raised by the social realities of law and the actual practices of legal officials. Part III focuses on conceptual features of legal systems and the logical structure of legal norms. All the essays were written for this volume by internationally renowned scholars from seven countries. Also included, in English translation, is an important polemical essay by Kelsen himself.

About the Author
Luis Duarte d'Almeida is Chancellor's Fellow in Law at the University of Edinburgh. John Gardner is Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford. Leslie Green is Professor of the Philosophy of Law at the University of Oxford.


Book Information
ISBN 9781849464567
Author Luis Duarte d'Almeida
Format Hardback
Page Count 298
Imprint Hart Publishing
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 601g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 14mm