Synopsis
A natural-law argument that genuine law must meet an inner morality, eight procedural demands of clarity, consistency, and publicity, to count as law at all.
Core passage idea
Paraphrase · Modern copyrighted workLaw has an inner morality: rules must be public, clear, stable, and followable, and a system that flouts these is not truly law.
It ties legality itself to moral standards of fairness in procedure, challenging the idea that any command can count as law.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with H. L. A. Hart, The Concept of Law.
Reading note
Read it as a response to Hart and positivism; the eight principles are the heart of the argument.
Best paired with
H. L. A. Hart, The Concept of Law