On Law and Justice

by Alf Ross, Jakob Holtermann, Uta Bindreiter

Overview

On Law and Justice by Alf Ross (1899-1979) is a classic work of twentieth-century legal philosophy. The first translation into English was notably poor and abridged, and it misrepresented Ross's views. Translated from scratch and in full length from the original Danish, this new critical edition casts light on Ross's work and resituates it firmly in the context of current debates in the field.

Ross was, in H.L.A. Hart's words, 'the most acute and best-equipped philosopher' of Scandinavian legal realism. On Law and Justice provides a comprehensive outline of his legal realist position, offering a consistently empirical research programme that simultaneously recognizes the distinctly normative character of law. Ross's legal realism avoids the standard critiques against behaviourist reductionism while still remaining categorically distinct from legal positivism and natural law.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198716105
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/20/2020
Pages:	568
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.50(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Alf Ross (1899-1979) was a Danish legal and moral philosopher and scholar of international law. He is best known as one of the leading exponents of Scandinavian Legal Realism. Ross published Om Ret og Retfaerdighed (On Law and Justice) in 1953 which was later published in English in 1959.

Jakob Holtermann is Associate Professor in Legal Philosophy at the University of Copenhagen. His main interests and publications are in the philosophy of legal science, notably the philosophy of Alf Ross, and its relations to Scandinavian and American Legal Realism and to European New Legal Realism.

Uta Bindreiter is an Associate Professor of Law at Lund University. Her main interest and publications are in legal-theoretical problems-specifically, in the role of basic assumptions in the law.

Table of Contents

I. The Problems of Legal PhilosophyII. The Concept "Scientifically Valid Danish Law"III. The Sources of LawIV. Legal Method: InterpretationV. Legal ModalitiesVI. The Concept of RightsVII. The Theory of Rights in Rem and Rights in PersonamVIII. The Legal SystemIX. Operative FactsX. The History of Natural LawXI. Analysis and Critique of the Philosophy of Natural LawXII. The Idea of JusticeXIII. Utilitarianism and the Chimera of Public UtilityXIV. Science and PoliticsXV. Legal Politics: Purpose and ScopeXVI. The Possibility of Legal Politics: Between Fate and UtopiaXVII. The Role of the 'Sense of Justice' in Legal Politics