The concept of "positive law"

Kazimierz Opałek

pp. 153-167

in: Kazimierz Opałek, Selected papers in legal philosophy, Berlin, Springer, 1999

Abstract

In the following considerations regarding their topic the basic point of view will be that of legal theory as a discipline to the tasks of which belongs performing conceptual — terminological analyses in the domain of law and that of the study of law. The problem has also its historical aspect which by no means can be overlooked. What we intend here is not a detailed investigation of the history of the concept "positive law" based on sources but an explanation of the causes of its formation and shedding light on its evolution as well as the role it has payed and plays in the study of law. Last but not least, the problem has its philosophical aspect, as the vicissitudes of the concept in question and its changing versions are undoubtedly conditioned by the dominant or competing philosophical standpoints of succesive historical periods. Legal theoretical considerations combined with historical and philosophical ones will, in our opinion, help to elucidate some other more detailed questions arising in the contemporary discussions on the concept of "positive law".¹