Search

The text is a tribute to the jurist Javier Hervada, a distinguished professor of Canon Law and Philosophy of Law, who passed away in 2020. Hervada focused on the search and development of the foundations of legal institutions and conducted studies in Philosophy of Law. He published several books on these topics, with his most relevant work being "Critical Introduction to Natural Law". The article highlights his contribution to the contemporary theory of human rights from a natural law philosophical perspective. Hervada founded the journal Humana Iura in 1991 and mentions his outstanding career as a professor, researcher, and university director, as well as the distinctions and recognitions he received throughout his life. His comprehensive approach to life and his rejection of the individualistic and subjectivist drift of human rights are emphasized. In conclusion, the importance of Hervada as a reference for classical natural law and his commitment to the promotion of knowledge and ethical formation in the field of law are highlighted. [Extracted from the article]

This article combines the strong and brave defense of human reason made by Joseph Ratzinger and its application to the field of the regulation and valuation of human praxis, especially in law, politics and economy. Finally, there is an assesment of Ratzinger ideas regarding the aspects mentioned above and a defense of his conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, written as a tribute to the first edition of John Finnis' Natural Law and Natural Rights, the author examines some of the versions introduced by the Australian philosopher, in order to analyze, specify, develop and defend the notion of rule of law. He later goes on to give an assessment of Finnis' contributions, primarily of the ones regarding the ethical character of that institute, and the mastery with which he has integrated the classical-realistic tradition of the natural law theory, the methodological approaches of analytical jurisprudence and the contemporary reflection about the idea of a government limited by law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent book (The Force of Law), Frederick Schauer -American philosopher of law-, tries to justify a return to the original version of positivism in law: the one elaborated by Bentham and Austin, which reduces the law to imperatives with the threaten of a sanction in case of non-compliance. From this point of view, Schauer criticizes Hart and his followers, as well as the natural law thinkers, and proposes a positivist-reducing conception of law, but with a broader conception of "sanction". The autor of the article criticizes Schauer's view from many perspectives, mainly because the reductivism found in his ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author studies the different proposals and schools of thought, known as mayoritarions. This doctrine questions the idea of the rule of law, reduces it to a mere balance of interests and powers and reviles all traditional versions, of normative character, of the rule of law. He further offers an answer to these democratist ideas, by outlining the normative doctrines of the rule of law expounded by John Finnis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the author intervenes in the debate on the priority of human nature, or human goods, as sources of knowledge of the contents of natural law. He develops the opposite positions of Javier Hervada and John Finnis, and draws some precisive conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The autnor develops some ideas on the starting point of Philosophy of Law, with reference to the juridical experience, the analysis of language in law, and the analogic character of the main notions of this subject. After that, the author makes a strong criticism about the reductionist proposals in Philosophy of Law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After contextualizing the Critical Legal Studies Movement, the author summarizes Duncan Kennedy's opinion regarding the problem of law adjudication, and his proposal about the non-rational and ideological nature of this process. After that, the author criticizes Duncan Kennedy' proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the author begins by summarizing Luigi Ferrajoli's proposal on the philosophical foundation of fundamental rights. He later makes a critical analysis of the principal points. Mainly, the author studies the instrumental character of this founding strategy, its debatable logical coherence, its undeniable relativism, its limitations towards the subjects of rights and, finally, the impossibility to overcome, consistently, the positivist reductionism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]