Journal article
The efficacy condition
- Abstract:
- “A legal system exists,” Joseph Raz claims, “if and only if it is in force.” By this he means to suggest that the efficacy of law—that is, its capacity to control the population to which it applies—is necessary for its identity as such. Despite widespread recognition that efficacy is a condition of the existence of law, however, little time has been spent analyzing the notion. This article begins an attempt to make up the deficit. I make the case for efficacy as necessary for law and go on to develop and defend an account of the concept that is broadly Kelsenian in spirit. In doing so I address questions concerning the relationship between obedience and enforcement in an account of the existence of a legal system as well as relating the discussion to that concerning the ontological status of international law.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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Access Document
- Files:
-
-
(Preview, Accepted manuscript, pdf, 275.4KB, Terms of use)
-
- Publisher copy:
- 10.1017/S1352325220000051
Authors
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Journal:
- Legal Theory More from this journal
- Volume:
- 25
- Issue:
- 4
- Pages:
- 225 - 243
- Publication date:
- 2020-06-30
- Acceptance date:
- 2020-04-30
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1469-8048
- ISSN:
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1352-3252
- Language:
-
English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
-
1106588
- Local pid:
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pubs:1106588
- Deposit date:
-
2020-05-25
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Adams, T
- Copyright date:
- 2020
- Rights statement:
- © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press
- Notes:
- This is the accepted manuscript version of the article. The final version is available online from Cambridge University Press at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352325220000051
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