Validity as a function of meaning in Somló’s Juristische Grundlehre

Wedman, Trevor (2018) Validity as a function of meaning in Somló’s Juristische Grundlehre. Hungarian Journal of Legal Studies, 59 (2). pp. 228-242. ISSN 2498-5473

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Abstract

Abstract Hans Kelsen, along with most other legal theorists, presupposes the existence of the sovereign in developing his theory of law. As a result, the Kelsenian theory can only account for legal norms issued in the abstract. For legal norms in the abstract though, there is no bearing on which to develop a theory of norms that reaches beyond the skeletal. This is an issue which has plagued legal theory for the past century and which this paper proposes to address upon a re-reading of the Juristische Grundlehre. Specifically, we are able to open our concept of sovereignty with Somló in ways that the Kelsenian theory does not permit. In this paper, I will argue that Felix Somló’s flexible conception of sovereignty leads to a much fuller contextualization of legal norms as expressions of meaning.

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