LARRY ALEXANDER and FREDERICK SCHAUER
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195343298
- eISBN:
- 9780199867806
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195343298.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This chapter takes up the question of the nonlegal foundations of any legal system and, in particular, H. L. A. Hart's notion of the ultimate rule of recognition—the master rule that pedigrees the ...
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This chapter takes up the question of the nonlegal foundations of any legal system and, in particular, H. L. A. Hart's notion of the ultimate rule of recognition—the master rule that pedigrees the other rules governing what officials and citizens are legally obligated to do. Initially, the chapter raises but not necessarily resolves several questions about Hart's own account of the rule of recognition. The second section of the chapter then looks at the United States Constitution—and the practices that have developed regarding its interpretation and enforcement—through the lens of the idea of an ultimate rule of recognition.Less
This chapter takes up the question of the nonlegal foundations of any legal system and, in particular, H. L. A. Hart's notion of the ultimate rule of recognition—the master rule that pedigrees the other rules governing what officials and citizens are legally obligated to do. Initially, the chapter raises but not necessarily resolves several questions about Hart's own account of the rule of recognition. The second section of the chapter then looks at the United States Constitution—and the practices that have developed regarding its interpretation and enforcement—through the lens of the idea of an ultimate rule of recognition.
D. J. GALLIGAN
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199291830
- eISBN:
- 9780191700675
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291830.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
The rule of recognition, as a social fact, aids in understanding how social rules make up a system of law in two ways. First, it serves as an ultimate rule that links rules to form a system as it ...
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The rule of recognition, as a social fact, aids in understanding how social rules make up a system of law in two ways. First, it serves as an ultimate rule that links rules to form a system as it identifies the conditions under which new rules are made and provides the basis for determining whether any social rule is a legal rule. Second, it bestows authority on specific rules as laws since any law made that complies with the rule of recognition obtains a binding quality that requires officials to act in accordance with the rule. Its two elements involve convergent behaviour on the officials's part and an internal attitude that considers the said convergent behavior as obligatory. Admiration and scepticism regarding the rule of recognition has raised issues and these are discussed in this chapter.Less
The rule of recognition, as a social fact, aids in understanding how social rules make up a system of law in two ways. First, it serves as an ultimate rule that links rules to form a system as it identifies the conditions under which new rules are made and provides the basis for determining whether any social rule is a legal rule. Second, it bestows authority on specific rules as laws since any law made that complies with the rule of recognition obtains a binding quality that requires officials to act in accordance with the rule. Its two elements involve convergent behaviour on the officials's part and an internal attitude that considers the said convergent behavior as obligatory. Admiration and scepticism regarding the rule of recognition has raised issues and these are discussed in this chapter.
