Natural law

preserve a distinction between the law that is and the law that should be or is trying to be.” This distinction between what is and what should be is the foundational idea separating law in the form of constitution and morality based on the distinction between good and bad. By creating a boundary between law and morality, the legal positivists thus try to theorize on the nature of law itself. The classical natural theory of law insists on a necessary connection between law and morality.…

Summary: The Law is a well written piece by Frederic Bastiat on the defense of liberty, natural human rights, rule of law, and the importance of true justice. The context of the reading begins with a definition and a purpose of law. Law can be defined as the enforcement of rightful defense via a collective force. Bastiat stated that all purposes of law should be used to protect life, liberty, property and punish plunder. Plunder is defined by Bastiat as taking belongings from one inhabitant…

Grudge informer case by maintaining unjust law is still a law, but perhaps so unjust that it should be disobeyed: On the one hand, we will begin our analysis by explaining the first part of the proposition “Hart argues that we conceptualized the Grudge informer case by maintaining unjust law is still a law”. In order to understand why according to him an unjust law is still a law, it is necessary to remind briefly his view on the connection between law and morality. As a matter of fact, it is…

This essay will critically analyse inclusive legal positivism and will provide with arguments why it is a positivistic theory of law in name only. To do so, it will explore the essence of what legal positivism is by discussing the issues concerning morality and authority. The main argument of soft positivism being a positivistic theory in name only will consist of the assertion that the presence of morality in it makes it contradict with the essence of positivism, namely, that a connection…

I am going to begin this paper by stating that I do, in fact, side with Motley. However, because I want to be an attorney, and I enjoy debate, I feel I must explain how exactly I came to this conclusion, as it was not an easy one. Originally, I was torn between Motley and Anderson. I agreed with both of them in that a sender and receiver is necessary to facilitate communication, thus eliminating Clevenger; however, I struggled with the differentiation they drew in regards to intentionality.…

Weber specifies formal and substantive rationality in terms of law making (legislation) and law finding (adjudication) as the two central aspects of law. Weber categorizes law making and law finding processes based on their rationality and formality. This leads to a classification of law as rational or irrational according to either their formal or substantive aspects. As a result, a fourfold ideal-typical types of law emerges; formally rational, formally irrational, substantively rational and…

Government,” he discusses the natural state of man, and the privileges that a man living in his natural state has. A man in his primitive, or original, state is allowed perfect freedom to all the resources that he may use. He is allowed the right to “punish the transgressors of that law to such a degree,” (Locke) but he must also work to preserve the rest of mankind that is operating within the natural state. Locke goes on to explain why a man may relinquish his natural rights to join a…

equal because they were born with the faculty of reasoning. Locke argues that men have natural rights to liberty, freedom, and property. Men in the state of nature automatically possess liberty and freedom; however, their right to ownership of property is earned through labor. Even though men are equal and free in a state of nature they do not have the right to impinge on others because natural law exists. Natural law should be used as a guide. However it should not restrain humans in any way.…

belief in their Eternal Law. But what is eternal law? According to St. Thomas Aquinas in his works Treatise on Law “Eternal law is known to all rational creatures at least to some extent through its effects, what's more, because of its primacy, eternal law is such that all other law (natural, divine, human, and even…

LIMITATIONS OF POSITIVIST INTERNATIONAL LAW Although, it may be appealing to rely on the positivist arguments that focus on international written, official rules, it is important to note that law transcends far beyond being just a set of rules controlling and dictating the behavior of societies. The norms, values, morals and beliefs of any community are reflected in its law. International law does recognize other sources which are not given any credence in positive law. It recognizes the…