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Hugo Grotius and Laws in War

Hugo Grotius, in his work De Jure Belli ac Pacis (On the Law of War and Peace), published in 1625, laid the foundations for modern international law and established fundamental principles regarding the legitimacy and conduct of war. He developed a theoretical framework that reconciled ethical, legal, and political elements, profoundly influencing legal thought on armed conflicts and international relations. His ideas remain central to the debate on just war and the ethical limits on the use of force.

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Hans Kelsen and the Pure Theory of Law

Hans Kelsen (1881-1973) stands as an essential figure in legal theory, primarily associated with his Pure Theory of Law(Reine Rechtslehre), first published in 1934. The premise of the “pure theory of law” asserts that law constitutes an autonomous normative order, distinct in nature from morality, politics, religion, or economics. For Kelsen, law comprises a structured set of norms that establish a system of obligatory human behavior, sanctioned by the state. Based on this premise, Kelsen proposes a hierarchy of legal norms, highlighting the grundnorm or “basic norm” (also known as the “norm of norms”), which serves as the foundational source of validity for all other legal norms. This basic norm is not empirical but rather a theoretical construct essential for justifying the validity of all other norms within the legal system. It is, therefore, hypothetical and cannot be modified or repealed by other norms. Continuar a ler “Hans Kelsen and the Pure Theory of Law”