A seminal work in legal philosophy, this publication provides a sophisticated and influential account of legal positivism. It argues that law’s existence is a matter of social fact, separate from its moral merit. The text distinguishes between primary rules, which impose duties, and secondary rules, which confer powers, including rules of recognition that identify valid law within a legal system.
Its significance lies in its clarification of fundamental concepts within jurisprudence, offering a nuanced alternative to both natural law theory and command theories of law. This framework allows for a more precise understanding of how legal systems function and how law is differentiated from morality. The work has been pivotal in shaping contemporary debates about the nature of law and its relation to other social phenomena. Its impact is observed in a wide range of areas, including constitutional theory, international law, and the philosophy of criminal law.
