Legal positivism

Legal positivism is a modern intellectual tradition in the philosophy of law and jurisprudence that holds that law is a set of rules created by human beings who prescribe certain procedures for its enactment. This contrasts with natural law theory, which has ancient roots and holds that inherent moral principles provide a basis for the law, and that an immoral law is not a true law. Legal positivists oppose this view, maintaining that the validity of a law is determined by social facts such as enactment by a recognized authority following accepted procedures, rather than from any moral criteria.

Legal positivism was developed largely during the 18th and 19th centuries by legal philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham and John Austin. While Bentham and Austin developed legal positivist theory, empiricism provided the theoretical basis for its developments to occur. Some of the most prominent legal positivist writers of the 20th century have been Hans Kelsen, H. L. A. Hart, and Joseph Raz.