The wicked legal system, one whose laws have been made the instrument of a repugnant moral ideology, has played an important part in recent jurisprudential debate. It seems to be clear support for the argument of legal positivists, who insist on a distinction between law and morality, and to be an insurmountable obstacle to critics of positivism who reject that distinction. This work evaluates this debate. Its basis is a detailed study of judicial interpretations of the apartheid laws of South Africa and a brief study of ...
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The wicked legal system, one whose laws have been made the instrument of a repugnant moral ideology, has played an important part in recent jurisprudential debate. It seems to be clear support for the argument of legal positivists, who insist on a distinction between law and morality, and to be an insurmountable obstacle to critics of positivism who reject that distinction. This work evaluates this debate. Its basis is a detailed study of judicial interpretations of the apartheid laws of South Africa and a brief study of recent English judicial decisions, mainly on statutes and executive decisions dealing with matters of state security. The case study shows that particular conceptions of law and of the rule of law determined the reasoning both of judges whose decisions facilitated official policy and of judges whose decisions resisted that policy. The surprising conclusion is that positivism does not produce healthy legal practice. It would be far better for judges to adopt the morally charged conception of law put forward by positivism's critics, most notably Ronald Dworkin. It is argued that this conclusion prompts a novel understanding both of the positivist tradition and of the resources in common legal systems available to positivism's critics.
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Add this copy of Hard Cases in Wicked Legal Systems: South African Law to cart. $113.00, very good condition, Sold by Edmonton Book Store rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Edmonton, AB, CANADA, published 1991 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Hard Cases in Wicked Legal Systems: South African Law to cart. $153.14, good condition, Sold by Goldstone Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ammanford, CARMS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1991 by Clarendon Press.
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Add this copy of Hard Cases in Wicked Legal Systems: South African Law to cart. $162.00, very good condition, Sold by Chapter 1 Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA, published 1991 by Oxford University Press.
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Very Good in Very Good jacket. Size: 6x1x9; Publication of 289 pages. The dust jacket is a little shelf rubbed. The boards are in good condition. Internally the pages are clean and complete. Tightly bound and presented in cellophane. The binding is excellent. GK.
