Open AccessHans Kelsen’s Pure Theory of Law as Critique of the “Authoritarian” Understanding of Law and Jurisprudence
Author(s) -
Péter Techet
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
anali pravnog fakulteta u beogradu
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2406-2693
pISSN - 0003-2565
DOI - 10.51204/anali_pfbu_22103a
Subject(s) - jurisprudence , legal positivism , law , normative , positive law , authoritarianism , philosophy of law , politics , political science , sociology , comparative law , democracy , epistemology , philosophy , private law , black letter law
In this paper, I analyse Hans Kelsen’s understanding of jurisprudence and law – by contrasting the normative-dogmatic understanding, which I will call “authoritarian”. By establishing the primacy of politics and rejecting the prescriptive function of jurisprudence, Hans Kelsen enabled a democratic concept of law (and of jurisprudence), and at the same time a critical and political approach. Kelsen defines the law from a dynamic perspective, which justifies the constant changeability of the law – and in this respect the primacy of democratic politics over dogmatic jurisprudence. The normative basis for Kelsen’s understanding of jurisprudence is his relativism, which is based on a moral position on the autonomy of the individual.