A thematic collection of the “Archive of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy”. Texts on Hans Kelsen, the Pure Theory of Law and contemporary disputes within legal positivism. All articles are available free of charge in open access; the language of each text is indicated.
Hans Kelsen and the Pure Theory of Law
Hans Kelsen (1881–1973) is among the most influential legal theorists of the twentieth century. His Pure Theory of Law (Reine Rechtslehre, 1934; 2nd ed. 1960) is a programme for a science of law purified of sociological, psychological and moral elements: law is a hierarchical order of norms (Stufenbau, a conception developed with Adolf Julius Merkl) whose unity is grounded in the basic norm (Grundnorm). Kelsen co-drafted the Austrian Constitution of 1920 and fathered the European model of centralised constitutional review.
The “Archive” published — in Tomasz Gizbert-Studnicki’s translation — a text by Stanley L. Paulson, the leading contemporary Kelsen scholar: Kelsen jako odmieniec. The Polish reception of Kelsen is documented by Monika Zalewska’s reconstruction of his discussion with Jerzy Wróblewski.
Disputes within legal positivism
Legal positivists share the conviction that the validity of law depends on its social sources rather than its moral merits (the separation thesis). Beneath that common label lie deeply different positions: Austin’s naturalistic positivism, Kelsen’s anti-naturalistic normativism, Hart’s rule of recognition, and contemporary inclusive, exclusive and conventionalist variants — all documented in the texts below.
Selected texts
- Kelsen jako odmieniec. Obrona radykalnej teorii norm — Stanley L. Paulson, No. 4(29)/2021 (in Polish, transl. Tomasz Gizbert-Studnicki)
- Why Legal Conventionalism Fails — Adam Dyrda, No. 1(10)/2015 (in English)
- Sedno idei pozytywizmu prawniczego — Stanley L. Paulson, No. 2(15)/2012 (in Polish, transl. Marcin Romanowicz)
- Reguła uznania – remedium na zewnętrzną niepewność prawa? — Urszula Anna Kosielińska-Grabowska, No. 1(4)/2012 (in English)
- Historia pewnego przypisu. Próba rekonstrukcji dyskusji Hansa Kelsena z Jerzym Wróblewskim — Monika Zalewska, No. 1(2)/2011 (in Polish)
See also
Classics of Legal Theory and Philosophy · Ronald Dworkin i debata z pozytywizmem.
For authors
The “Archive” publishes articles in legal theory and philosophy — including work on Kelsen and legal positivism — in Polish and English, in open access with no publication charges and with double-blind peer review. The journal is indexed in Scopus, DOAJ and ERIH PLUS (100 points on the Polish ministerial list). See the guidelines for authors.
An editorial collection. Last updated: July 2026.