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Title

Kelsen im Kontext. Beiträge zum Werk Hans Kelsens und geistesverwandter Autoren.

Authors

van Ooyen, Robert Chr.

Abstract

The article deals with the work of constitutional lawyer Hans Kelsen and his political philosophy. Kelsen was long considered a "persona non grata" in Germany, as he was despised during the Weimar era. He was a legal positivist and critic of ideology, who reduced the state to positive law and the constitution. Kelsen did not see the people as an idealized community, but as a society in which different groups compete to enforce their interests. His identity theses state that the state is law and that law is ultimately power. The article deals with Hans Kelsen's positivist conception of law and its significance for democracy. Kelsen defines "law" as what is made by humans as legislation, and emphasizes that it is not necessarily just or derived from higher authorities. He argues that democracy presupposes such a positivist conception of law and is based on freedom and relativism of values. The article also mentions other thinkers such as Max Weber and Niklas Luhmann, who held similar views. The anthology "Kelsen in Context" by Horst Dreier provides a comprehensive introduction to Kelsen's life and work, as well as to theories of law, state, and democracy. It is also mentioned that Dreier was proposed as a judge at the Federal Constitutional Court, but was not appointed due to controversies and resistance from various political factions.

Subjects

KELSEN, Hans, 1881-1973; POLITICAL philosophy; CONSTITUTIONAL courts; FEDERAL judges; FEDERAL courts; RELATIVITY; MORAL relativism

Publication

Journal der Juristischen Zeitgeschichte, 2024, Vol 18, Issue 3, p105

ISSN

1863-9984

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.1515/jjzg-2024-0031

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