This book critically examines the conception of legal science and the nature of law developed
by Hans Kelsen. It provides a single dedicated space for a range of established European
scholars to engage with the influential work of this Austrian jurist legal philosopher and
political philosopher. The introduction provides a thematization of the Kelsenian notion of law
as a legal science. Divided into six parts the chapter contributions feature distinct levels
of analysis. Overall the structure of the book provides a sustained reflection upon central
aspects of Kelsenian legal science and the nature of law. Parts one and two examine the
validity of the project of Kelsenian legal science with particular reference to the social fact
thesis the notion of a science of positive law and the specifically Kelsenian concept of the
basic norm (Grundnorm). The next three parts engage in a critical analysis of the relationship
of Kelsenian legal science to constitutionalism practical reason and human rights. The last
part involves an examination of the continued pertinence of Kelsenian legal science as a theory
of the nature of law with a particular focus upon contemporary non-positivist theories of law.
The conclusion discusses the increasing distance of contemporary theories of legal positivism
from a Kelsenian notion of legal science in its consideration of the nature of law.
