The Generality of Law

Abstract

I outline the major ways in which law is necessarily general, starting from Hart’s account (in Chapter 2 of The Concept of Law), but pointing out aspects of generality in law that his essay on generality did not mention. I then explain the roles and the importance of particular norms in a legal system, arguing that particularity, too, is a necessary feature of a legal system. I discuss what ‘necessary’ means in these claims. It is a popular idea that legal theorists should not try to identify necessary features of law; I argue that the popular idea is a mistake. Finally, I argue that Hart should have been more willing to pass value judgments about law. We can get further with Hart’s own task – the elucidation task – if we say what is good – and bad – about law.

Keywords: HLA Hart, rule of law, necessary features of law