Oikeuspositivistien

Oikeuspositivistien is a term referring to legal positivists, a school of thought in legal philosophy. Legal positivism asserts that the existence and content of law depend on social facts, not on its merits. In other words, a law is a law if it has been enacted by a legitimate authority according to established procedures, regardless of whether it is just or morally good. This contrasts with natural law theory, which holds that there is a necessary connection between law and morality.

Key tenets of legal positivism include the separation thesis, which states that law and morality are conceptually distinct, and the social fact thesis, which posits that law is a matter of social convention and human creation. Prominent figures in legal positivism include John Austin, who defined law as the command of a sovereign backed by threat of sanction, and H.L.A. Hart, who developed a more nuanced theory of law as a system of primary and secondary rules.

Legal positivists focus on identifying what the law is, rather than what it ought to be. They often distinguish between the "is" of law and the "ought" of morality. This approach aims to provide a clear and objective understanding of legal systems, facilitating legal certainty and predictability. However, critics argue that a strict separation between law and morality can lead to the acceptance of unjust laws. Despite these criticisms, legal positivism remains a dominant and influential perspective in contemporary legal scholarship.