Ethiopian Justice and Legal Research Institute Teaching Material On JURISPRUDENCE PREPARED BY Daniel W/Gebriel Hassen Mohamed 2008 Table of Contents Table of Contents ..................................................................... i Acknowledgments ................................................................... 1 COURSE INTRODUCTION ........................................................ 2 COURSE OBJECTIVES .............................................................. 3 PART ONE ................................................................................ 4 UNIT ONE ................................................................................ 5 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS .................................................. 5 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 5 Objectives .................................................................................................................. 5 1.1. What is Jurisprudence ........................................................................................... 5 1.2. Why we study Jurisprudence ........................................................................... 6 1.3. Schools of Jurisprudence ................................................................................. 7 UNIT TWO ............................................................................... 9 CLASSICAL NATURAL LAW THEORY ....................................... 9 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 9 Objectives ................................................................................................................ 10 2.1 The Notion of Natural Law ............................................................................... 11 2.2 Ancient Greece: Natural Law as Source of Justice and Virtue .................... 13 2.2.1. General ........................................................................................................ 13 2.2.2 Socrates ........................................................................................................ 13 2.2.3. Plato ............................................................................................................ 16 2.2.4. Aristotle ....................................................................................................... 17 2.3 The Stoics: Natural Law as a Reason ................................................................. 20 2.3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 20 2.3.2. Cicero .......................................................................................................... 21 2.3.3. Seneca ......................................................................................................... 22 2.4. Christianity: Natural Law as Morality ............................................................. 23 2.4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 23 2.4.2 St. Augustine of Hippo .................................................................................. 23 2.4.3 St. Thomas Aquinas ...................................................................................... 24 2.5 Nature of Man and Justification for Law ......................................................... 26 2.5.1 Thomas Hobbes ............................................................................................ 26 2.5.2 John Locke.................................................................................................... 27 2.6 Kelsen’s Criticism on Natural Law Theory ..................................................... 29 Summary ................................................................................................................... 31 UNIT THREE........................................................................... 34 THE REVIVAL OF NATURAL LAW ........................................... 34 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 34 Objectives ................................................................................................................ 34 3.1. Procedural Natural Law: Lon L. Fuller ........................................................... 35 3.1.1 The Story ...................................................................................................... 35 i 3.1.2 Morality of Aspiration and of Duty ............................................................... 35 3.1.3 Fuller’s Law Making Criteria ........................................................................ 37 3.1.4 The Inner Morality of Law ............................................................................ 39 3.1.5 Criticisms on Fuller ....................................................................................... 41 3.2 Substantive Natural Law: John Finnis ............................................................ 42 3.2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 42 3.2.2 Finnis’ Defence of Naturalism ...................................................................... 42 3.2.3 The Basic Goods of Human Nature ............................................................... 43 2.3.4 Evaluation ..................................................................................................... 44 UNIT FOUR ............................................................................ 46 POSITIVISM .......................................................................... 46 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 46 Objectives ................................................................................................................ 47 The Command Theory: John Austin’s Positivism ................................................ 48 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 48 Objectives ................................................................................................................ 48 4.1. Influence of David Hume ................................................................................ 48 4.2. Jeremy Bentham ............................................................................................. 50 4.3 John Austin on Positivism and Separation thesis ......................................... 52 4.3.1 Positive Law and Positive Morality ............................................................... 52 4.3.2 Austin’s Concept of law ................................................................................ 54 4.3.3 The Separation Thesis ................................................................................... 58 4.3.4 Criticism on Austin ....................................................................................... 60 Questions for Discussion ....................................................................................... 62 4.4 Pure Theory of Law: Hans Kelsen .................................................................. 64 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 64 Objective ............................................................................................................... 64 Pure Theory of Law ............................................................................................... 64 Questions for Discussion ....................................................................................... 68 4.5 H L A Hart- The Concept of Law ..................................................................... 69 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 69 Objectives.............................................................................................................. 69 4.5.1 Hart’s Concept of Rules ................................................................................ 69 4.5.2. Dworkin’s criticism on Hart/Positivism ........................................................ 79 4.5.3. Law and Morality: Hart/Devlin debate ......................................................... 83 Questions for Discussion ........................................................................................... 93 4.6. Summary .......................................................................................................... 94 UNIT FIVE .............................................................................. 95 HISTORICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL LEGAL THEORY .............. 95 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 95 Objectives ................................................................................................................ 95 5.1 Historical School ............................................................................................... 96 5.1.1 The Spirit of the People: Savigny .................................................................. 96 5.1.2 The Changing process of Ancient Law: Henry Maine ................................... 97 5.2 Sociological School .......................................................................................