ACCTG 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Legal Positivism, H. L. A. Hart, Soft Law
Document Summary
If it comes from a source of law, it is law. Everything is part of the donut is law (law from sources with no discretion), but the hole in the donut does not come from a recognized source (not law, discretion). There are things that the law does not cover. Criticism of hart by dworkin: legal positivism. Dworkin: student of hart"s, law is not like a donut. Principles: recognized because of content or custom. There is more law than positive law: also concerned with describing law as it is. Not just how it is, but how it should be: descriptive theories describe how the law is. Hart: only pedigree is decisive in reality. Dworkin: there is more than just that: substance, too. Thomas aquinas: optimistic about human nature: humans are social and have a natural destination. E. g. living a good life, getting into heaven: through reasoning, we can figure out guidelines for behavior to reach our (god- given) destination (goals)
