POSIVIST

SCHOOL OF
JURISPRUDEN
CE
POSITIVISM
A school o f Jur ispr ude nce whose
ad vocates believe that the onl y
legitim ate sources o f law ar e those
writte n ru l es , re gulations, and
p rin cip les that have been
exp res s ly e nacted , ad opted , o r
recogn i zed by a gov ernment bod y,
includ i ng ad mi n istrative,
execu ti ve, le g islative, and jud ic i al
bod ies .
POSITIVISM
A CCORDING TO H.L.A.
HART, THERE ARE
FIVE MEANINGS TO
POSITIVISIM
L a w s are
commands.

Analysis of legal
concepts is worth
pursuing and distinct
from sociological and
historical inquiries .
CONT......
Decisions can be deduced
logically from predetermined
rules without recourse to social
aims, policy or morality.

Moral judgements cannot be

established or defended by
rational arguments, evidence or
any other proof.

Law as it is actually laid down,

has to be kept separate from
the law that ought to be.
POSITIVISM S E RV E S
T W O VA L U E S :
F irs t,by requiring that all l aw be
w ritten .
p ositivism ens ures that the
govern men t wil l e x p licitly
ap p rise the members of s ociety
o f their rights and obligation s .

o S e c o n d , positi vism c urbs judicia l

discretion .
I n so me ca s es jud ges are not
P O S I T I V I S T T H E O RY
s a y s
that there should be a
superior Governmental
entity that is not subject to
question or challenge. This
entity is responsible for
determining what
is right and what
is wrong as a matter of
law. If this law is violated,
there will be a punishment.
W H AT IS A LEGAL
POSITIVIST?
L egal p ositivism i s a p hilo sop hy
o f la w th a t emp hasizes the
conven tional nature of l a w that
i t i s socially constructed .
POSITIVIST
JURISPRUDENCE
is a theory that d enies valid ity
to any law t hat i s not d erived
from or s an cti oned by a
s overei gn or s ome oth er
d etermin ate source . I t i s al s o
kn own as p ositivistic
jurisp rud en ce .
W H AT I S M E A N T B Y
JURISPRUDENCE?
Jurisprudence is the study and theory
of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, also
known as jurists or legal theorists
(including legal philosophers and
social theorists of law), hope to
obtain a deeper understanding of the
nature of law, of legal reasoning,
legal systems and of legal
institutions.

JU R I S P R U D E N C E
 THERE ARE TWO
SUB-CATEGORIES:
T h e first sub-category
is analytic jurisprudence.
This area addresses the
meanings and uses of legal
concepts, such as, 'what is
law?'

T h e second sub-category
is normative jurisprudence.
This area addresses the moral
basis of law, such as, 'what
is the purpose of law?'
THAT REPRESENT THEORIES,
OR SCHOOLS OF
JURISPRUDENCE, REGARDING
HOW THOSE QUESTIONS ARE
BEST ANSWERED.

N a t u r a l
Law
Natural law is a philosophy
of law that focuses on the
laws of nature. This school
of jurisprudence represents
the belief that there are
inherent laws that are
common to all societies,
whether or not they are
CONT....
A second school of
jurisprudence is
called legal positivism.
L e g a l positivism proposes
that there isn't necessarily
a connection between law
and morality. Instead, it
holds that law comes from
various sources, usually
the government. If the
government enacts a law,