Title: The province of jurisprudence unbound: re-conceptualising law in a world of normative diversity, interaction and conflict

Authors: Zhong Xing Tan

Addresses: Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, Eu Tong Sen Building, 469G Bukit Timah Road, 259776, Singapore

Abstract: In conceptualising law, Hart, like most Anglo-American legal theorists, took the municipal legal system as his starting point. My thesis is that a state-based concept of law cannot adequately explain the diversity of interacting and conflicting normative orders in today's global arena. In its place, I propose an original re-conceptualisation of law as justice-oriented discourse across overlapping social fields. I first explain why it is fallacious to assume that the state should be the starting point for theoretical construction. Next, I use Hart's theory to demonstrate that a state-based theory cannot accommodate normative diversity, conflict and interaction. Finally, I explore various alternative theories, and suggest that law as 'justice-oriented discourse' best rises to the challenge of general jurisprudence in today's world. I conclude that our concepts of law must always remain sensitive to the emergence of new legal phenomena, and thus the task of the legal theorist is never complete.

Keywords: Hart; legal theory; jurisprudence; concept of law; normative diversity; justice; conflict; interaction.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPL.2014.064924

International Journal of Private Law, 2014 Vol.7 No.4, pp.297 - 309

Published online: 31 Oct 2014 *

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