Hans Kelsen 1881 – 1973
Hans Kelsen was an Austrian-American jurist and legal philosopher and the principal theorist of the pure theory of law. He drafted the federal constitution of the Austrian Republic in 1920, served on its constitutional court, and after exile under the Nazi regime spent the rest of his career at Cologne, Geneva, and Berkeley. His Pure Theory of Law sought to free legal science from the influence of moral, sociological, and political considerations and grounded the validity of law in a hierarchy of norms ascending to a presupposed Grundnorm. His General Theory of Law and State and his work on international law shaped postwar constitutionalism around the world.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Austrian-American
- Era
- Contemporary
- Movements
- Political
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Hans Kelsen:
“Law is a system of norms, not a fact.”
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Attributed to Hans Kelsen:
“The validity of a norm rests on the validity of the higher norm that authorizes it.”
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Attributed to Hans Kelsen:
“Justice is an irrational ideal; legality is the social good we can pursue.”
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Attributed to Hans Kelsen:
“Democracy is the political system most consistent with the relativity of values.”
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Attributed to Hans Kelsen:
“International law presupposes a basic norm that obligates states to observe their treaties.”