Hermann Kantorowicz’s concept of law without validity

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48143/rdai.v9i32.741

Keywords:

Validity, Hermann Kantorowicz, Morality, Concept Of Law, History Of Law

Abstract

This text is characterized as an analysis of the definition of law proposed by Hermann Kantorowicz in his book, The Definition of Law (1939), considered as a broad concept and suitable for a comprehensive history of legal science, averse to elements such as positivity, coercibility, state origin and validity, but favorable to the idea of ​​a set of social rules that prescribe external conduct and are considered justifiable. In this sense, the exclusion of validity in Kantorowicz's definition is discussed in opposition to Robert Alexy's own reflections, which have as their central focus the relationship between law and morality to argue that, although the exclusion of validity may be useful for the history of law, a complete definition of law needs to incorporate this element.

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Author Biography

Robert Alexy, University Of Kiel

Professor of Law at The University Of Kiel. Alma Mater at The University of Göttingen. E-mail: alexy@law.uni-kiel.de. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5408-1198.

References

Alexy, Robert. A Defence of Radbruch’s Formula. In: Lloyd’s Introduction to Jurisprudence, 8th edn., ed. M. D. A. Freeman, London, Sweet & Maxwell, 2008.

Alexy, Robert. Begriff und Geltung des Rechts, 6th edn., Freiburg/München, Karl Alber Verlag, 2020.

Alexy, Robert. The Argument from Injustice, trans. Bonnie Litschewski Paulson and Stanley L. Paulson, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2003.

Alexy, Robert. The Dual Nature of Law. In: Alexy, Law’s Ideal Dimension, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198796831.001.0001

Alexy, Robert. The Nature of Arguments about the Nature of Law. In: Rights, Culture, and the Law. Themes from the Legal and Political Philosophy of Joseph Raz, eds. Lukas H. Mayer, Stanley L. Paulson, and Thomas W. Pogge, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199248254.003.0001

Goodhart, A. L. Introduction. In: Kantorowicz, The Definition of Law, ed. A. H. Campbell, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1958.

Hart, H. L. A. Review. In: The Philosophical Review, 69 (1960), 270-2.Hart, H. L. A. The Concept of Law (1961), 3rd edn., Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2183516

Kantorowicz, Hermann. The Definition of Law, ed. A. H. Campbell, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1958.

Published

2025-02-10

How to Cite

ALEXY, Robert. Hermann Kantorowicz’s concept of law without validity. Journal of Public Law and Infrastructure | RDAI, São Paulo: Thomson Reuters | Livraria RT, v. 9, n. 32, p. 267–276, 2025. DOI: 10.48143/rdai.v9i32.741. Disponível em: https://rdai.com.br/index.php/rdai/article/view/741. Acesso em: 24 apr. 2025.

Issue

Section

Foreign Doctrine | Doutrina Estrangeira