Law

Title: The Importance of Pure Legal Theory Author: Eduardo García Máynez Publisher: Fontamara Pages: 42 Collection: Arguments In this essay, Eduardo García Máynez highlights the importance of the pure theory of law within the 20th-century legal philosophy context. Based on the distinction between the realms of what is and what ought to be, and the content and form of legal norms, Kelsenian formalism-in Máynez's interpretation, which is itself based on the analyses of Norberto Bobbio-manifests itself in three directions: as "legalism," as "theory of legal forms," and as "scientific formalism," whose most drastic expression is the principle of the purity of method. As Máynez states: "Kelsian doctrine may be superseded in many aspects, but there is no doubt that it is the most important doctrinal framework erected in our time within the field of legal knowledge."