Widely regarded as the most important legal theorist of the twentieth century, Hans Kelsen is best known for his formulation of the "pure theory of law", - within which the study of international law was his special field of work. The present volume, "General Theory of Law and State", first published in 1945, allowed Kelsen to adjust his pure theory of law to American circumstances after World War II. It also afforded him the opportunity to present to English-speaking readers his latest ideas on the supremacy of international law. The volume is divided into two parts: the first devoted to law, the second to the state. Together these topics constitute the most systematic and comprehensive exposition of Kelsen's jurisprudence. The volume is not only a compendium of Kelsen's lifework up to that time; it is also an extension of his theories, "to embrace the problems and institutions of English and American law as well as those of the Civil Law countries". Indeed, references to Continental European law are minimal compared with examples, scattered throughout the text, taken from the U.S. Constitution and several American court cases. This is more than a concession to American readers; it signifies that Kelsen's legal theory is truly general in that it accounts for the Common Law as well as the Civil Law. A systematic treatise on jurisprudence, "General Theory of Law and State" is a substantial reformulation of Kelsen's ideas articulated in several of his previous books, written in German. The juridical principles put forth by the most important legal theorist of the twentieth century remain of great value. This volume will be read by legal scholars, political scientists, and intellectual historians.
Eric Voegelin is famous as a philosopher of history and a as one of the most eminent political scientists of the 20th century. His most fundamental work on political theory, the "New Science of Politics, is nowadays considered a classic in ist field. While the "New Science" has always been a very controversial book, ist critics have hardly ever taken the pain to pinpoint the weaknesses they condemmed Voegelins book for. There is, however, one exception: Only shortly after the appearance of Voegelins "New Science" in 1954, Hans Kelsen has written a most detailed reply to this book of his former student. This reply, which was known to Voegelin and is mentioned in his autobiography, is now being published by the ontos verlag. Being a distinguished philosopher himself of an erudition and breadth of knowledge that matches that of Eric Voegelin, Hans Kelsen is able to support the critical stance he takes on Voegelin "New Science" by clear and well founded argument. This critical reply to Voegelins "New Science" is not only an important contribution to the dispute about the foundations of political order in modern society, but will also prove valuable to readers generally interested in Voegelins life and work.
Kelsen, Hans. What is Justice? Justice, Law and Politics in the Mirror of Science. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1957. [vi], 397 pp. Reprinted 2000 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN 1-58477-101-1. Cloth. New. $95. * Through the lens of science, Kelsen proposes a dynamic theory of natural law, examines Platonic and Aristotelian doctrines of justice, the idea of justice as found in the holy scriptures, and defines justice as "...that social order under whose protection the search for truth can prosper. 'My' justice, then, is the justice of freedom, the justice of peace, the justice of democracy-the justice of tolerance." (p. 24).
Reprint of the second revised and enlarged edition, a complete revision of the first edition published in 1934. A landmark in the development of modern jurisprudence, the pure theory of law defines law as a system of coercive norms created by the state that rests on the validity of a generally accepted Grundnorm, or basic norm, such as the supremacy of the Constitution. Entirely self-supporting, it rejects any concept derived from metaphysics, politics, ethics, sociology, or the natural sciences. Beginning with the medieval reception of Roman law, traditional jurisprudence has maintained a dual system of "subjective" law (the rights of a person) and "objective" law (the system of norms). Throughout history this dualism has been a useful tool for putting the law in the service of politics, especially by rulers or dominant political parties. The pure theory of law destroys this dualism by replacing it with a unitary system of objective positive law that is insulated from political manipulation. Possibly the most influential jurisprudent of the twentieth century, Hans Kelsen [1881-1973] was legal adviser to Austria's last emperor and its first republican government, the founder and permanent advisor of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Austria, and the author of Austria's Constitution, which was enacted in 1920, abolished during the Anschluss, and restored in 1945. The author of more than forty books on law and legal philosophy, he is best known for this work and General Theory of Law and State. Also active as a teacher in Europe and the United States, he was Dean of the Law Faculty of the University of Vienna and taught at the universities of Cologne and Prague, the Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Harvard, Wellesley, the University of California at Berkeley, and the Naval War College. Also available in cloth.
Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1957. vi, 275 pp. Reprinted 2001, 2011. The noted jurist Hans Kelsen advances his theory that collective security is "...an essential function of law, national as well as international, and that, therefore, there exists an intrinsic connection between international security and international law; in other terms, that collective security of the state is, just as collective security of the individual within the state, by its very nature a legal problem." Foreword p. ii. "Professor Kelsen's high standing as a scholar is sufficient to commend in advance any volume that comes from his pen. But in this case he has chosen a subject that will at once challenge attention. The main function of the volume, in the words of the author, 'is to show that collective security is an essential function of law,' that it is 'by its very nature a legal problem.' A generation ago there were many in high places to contest the thesis. Today the bitter lesson of two world wars has established the principle for practical purposes, in spite of the difficulty of putting it into practice. But the legal aspects of the thesis remain to be clarified, and this is what Professor Kelsen does with all his power of legal analysis and systematic presentation. (...) [We] must be grateful for what we are given, an acute analysis of a fundamental principle, the applications of which we can make from our own knowledge of recent history." --C. G. Fenwick, American Journal of International Law 52 (1958) 811.
Kelsen, Hans. Principles of International Law. New York: Rinehart & Company, Inc. [1952]. xvii, 461 pp. Reprinted 2003 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN 1-58477-325-1. Cloth. $85. * Upon his retirement from the faculty of University of California at Berkeley in 1952, noted legal philosopher and political scientist Hans Kelsen [1881-1973] produced arguably this his most important work, "... a systematic study of the most important aspects of international law, including international delicts and sanctions, reprisals, the spheres of validity and the essential function of international law, creation and application of international law and national law." Nicoletta Bersier Ladavac, "Hans Kelsen (1881 - 1973) Biographical Note and Bibliography," European Journal of International Law Vol. 9 (1998) No. 2.
Through the lens of science, Hans Kelsen proposes a dynamic theory of natural law, examines Platonic and Aristotelian doctrines of justice and the idea of justice as found in the holy scriptures. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1957.
Hans Kelsen is widely recognized as one of the most important legal theorists of the 20th century. Surprisingly, however, his political writings are not nearly as widely known as his legal theory, especially in the English-speaking world. This book fills the void between what is and isn't known about Hans Kelsen's political philosophy, and the ways that philosophy has and will continue to shape political debates inherent to democracy in the future. For the first time in English, this classic book - with an introduction by political theorist Nadia Urbinati - provides an overview of Kelsen's career and his contributions to 20th century political thought.
Kelsen, Hans. The Law of the United Nations. A Critical Analysis of Its Fundamental Problems. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, [1964]. xvii, 994 pp. Reprinted 2000 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 978-1-58477-077-0. ISBN-10: 1-58477-077-5. Cloth. $125.* First published under the auspices of The London Institute of World Affairs in 1950. With a supplement, Recent Trends in the Law of the United Nations [1951]. A critical, detailed, highly technical legal analysis of the United Nations charter and organization.
In his choice of texts, the Editor has been faced with the difficult task of selecting, from among the author's more than 600 publications, those of the greatest philosophical interest. It is chiefly the topics of value-rela tivism and the logic of norms that have been kept in view. The selection has also been guided by the endeavour to reprint, so far as possible, texts which have not hitherto appeared in English. At times, however, this aim has had to be discarded, in order to include works of key im portance and also the latest expressions of Kelsen's view. In addition to the two topics already mentioned, the Editor has con sidered Kelsen's discussions of the causal principle to be so far worthy of philosophical attention, that some writings on causality and account ability have been included in this collection of philosophical studies. OTA WEINBERGER Hans Kelsen died on April 19th, 1973. Only his work now lives, for the inspiration of future generations of jurists and philosophers. Graz, 25th April, 1973 OT A WEINBERGER TRANSLATOR'S NOTE I am obliged to the Editor for his careful scrutiny of the translation, which has led to a number of corrections and improvements in the text.
THE CONTRADICTORY NATURE OF COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT Written during a tense period of the Cold War, this study observed that Bolshevism was a system that embraces anarchism in theory and totalitarianism in practice. In order to survive the Bolshevist state must obliterate the potentially destabilizing forces inherent in democracy through a party dictatorship that is presented as the political self-determination of a free people. "A deep-cutting analysis of some of the fundamental contradictions in Communist theory and practice, particularly in regard to democracy and the dictatorial function of the state." --Foreign Affairs 27 (1948-49) 679 Possibly the most influential jurisprudent of the twentieth century, Hans Kelsen [1881-1973] was legal adviser to Austria's last emperor and its first republican government, the founder and permanent advisor of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Austria and the author of Austria's Constitution, which was enacted in 1920, abolished during the Anschluss and restored in 1945. He was the author of more than forty books on law and legal philosophy. Active as a teacher in Europe and the United States, he was Dean of the Law Faculty of the University of Vienna and taught at the Universities of Cologne and Prague, the Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Harvard, Wellesley, the University of California at Berkeley and the Naval War College.
Kelsen, Hans. Society and Nature: A Sociological Inquiry. London: K. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., [1946]. viii, 391 pp. Reprinted 2000 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 99-054869. ISBN 1-58477-064-3. Cloth. $85. * The influential jurist Hans Kelsen [1881-1973] here applies his concept of the distinction between society and nature. He shows how primitive man developed his interpretation of nature, through the laws of retribution and of causality, to a modern concept of nature and society. He holds that the gradual emancipation of the law of causality from the principle of retribution is "the emancipation from a social interpretation of nature. The process shows a relation between social and natural science which is very important from the point of view of intellectual history." (Introduction p. viii) Extensively annotated. Kelsen is known for his theory of pure positive law, as postulated in General Theory of Law and State, which is also available in a reprint edition from The Lawbook Exchange.
Union: The Heart of Rugby is an epic international portrait of rugby through the lenses of the world's great rugby photographers. Conceived to celebrate the true heart and soul of rugby around the world, Union is both a stunning large-format book and a photographic exhibition. This is the book rugby fans worldwide have been waiting for and will be a landmark in the history of rugby publishing. The Union collection of images is the result of an international search involving the highest echelon of award-winning rugby photographers and has been edited by legendary sports photographer, Neil Leifer. The final collection comprises 150 original and evocative images drawn from many thousands. Complementing the images is an original text by author Paul Thomas that explores the eight core creeds that underpin the sport - pride, team, friendship, courage, passion, heroes, pain and glory - and based on interviews with five of the game's greatest players from New Zealand, Australia, France, South Africa and England: John Kirwan, Nick Farr-Jones, Phillipe Sella, Joel Stransky and Martin Johnson.
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