Hart's Rule of Recognition and American Law
Robert Gissubel
Hart’s Rule of Recognition and American Law According to Hart, a rule of recognition is the basis on which a society deems its laws to be valid. It is the reason for people in a society to act in accordance with primary and secondary rules set forth by the governing power. The primary justification for adherence to law is interpreted as the rule of recognition, for it defines obligation to such law as a standard for society. This foundation provides criteria for the validation of law and, though commonly understood within a society, can still be referenced as a justification. Furthermore, a rule of recognition acts as the final justification in a series of statutes. When considering the U.S. legal and political system, the rule of recognition can be defined by how well a rule or law adheres to the U.S. Constitution. This in turn decides obligation of U.S. citizens to obey them. It may be argued that the Constitution itself is the rule of recognition, but as Hart states:
“The existence of such a rule of recognition may take any of a huge variety of forms, simple or complex. It may, as in the early law of many societies, be no more than that an authoritative list or text of the rules is to be found in a written document or carved on some public monument… In a developed legal system the rules of recognition are of course more complex; instead of identifying rules exclusively by reference to a text or list they do so by reference to some general characteristic possessed by the primary rules.” (p. 45-46)
The U.S. legal system is considered a developed one that consists of many levels of statutes, amendments, and precedence. Simple reference to the Constitution cannot provide complete justification for the existence of a rule. Instead, one must take into account the rule’s relation to the Constitution, previous interpretations of related rules, and the possible conflict this rule may have with the previous rules. Observation of these relations is
Hart’s Rule of Recognition and American Law According to Hart, a rule of recognition is the basis on which a society deems its laws to be valid. It is the reason for people in a society to act in accordance with primary and secondary rules set forth by the governing power. The primary justification for adherence to law is interpreted as the rule of recognition, for it defines obligation to such law as a standard for society. This foundation provides criteria for the validation of law and, though commonly understood within a society, can still be referenced as a justification. Furthermore, a rule of recognition acts as the final justification in a series of statutes. When considering the U.S. legal and political system, the rule of recognition can be defined by how well a rule or law adheres to the U.S. Constitution. This in turn decides obligation of U.S. citizens to obey them. It may be argued that the Constitution itself is the rule of recognition, but as Hart states:
“The existence of such a rule of recognition may take any of a huge variety of forms, simple or complex. It may, as in the early law of many societies, be no more than that an authoritative list or text of the rules is to be found in a written document or carved on some public monument… In a developed legal system the rules of recognition are of course more complex; instead of identifying rules exclusively by reference to a text or list they do so by reference to some general characteristic possessed by the primary rules.” (p. 45-46)
The U.S. legal system is considered a developed one that consists of many levels of statutes, amendments, and precedence. Simple reference to the Constitution cannot provide complete justification for the existence of a rule. Instead, one must take into account the rule’s relation to the Constitution, previous interpretations of related rules, and the possible conflict this rule may have with the previous rules. Observation of these relations is