¿Unidad lógica o dinámica? Coherencia y sistema jurídico en Kelsen
ISSN: 0214-8676, 2386-4702
Year of publication: 2009
Issue: 32
Pages: 255-314
Type: Article
More publications in: Doxa: Cuadernos de Filosofía del Derecho
Sustainable development goals
Abstract
Looking at the Kelsenian approach to the conflicts of norms, we can detect a tension between the understanding of law as a dynamic system of positive norms and the interpretation of the legal system as a «logical unity», which implies, among other things, a complete lack of normative contradictions. In this essay, the evolution of Kelsen’s thought respecting this issue is analyzed and three consecutive positions are identified. The theoretical strategy followed by him defending, almost until the end of his life, the thesis according to which coherence is a necessary property of a legal system is examined, and the reasons behind his abandonment of that thesis are unveiled.