University Institute of Legal Studies

JURISPRUDENCE- HART’S CONCEPT OF LAW

21LCT114
Faculty Name : Himanshi Gupta

Hart’s Concept of Law DISCOVER . LEARN . EMPOWER

 COURSE OBJECTIVES
The Course aims to:

To provide a basic understanding of the debates around the nature of

1 law.

To make an understanding about the structure of the legal institutions

2 and the hierarchy of courts in India.

To make the students aware about the various sources of law and be
able to synthesise such sources and use them to formulate arguments in
3 their research. 2
 COURSE OUTCOMES
On completion, the students are expected to:
CO Title Level
Number
CO1 Students will be able to distinguish between Apply
the major kinds of law, legal systems and
institutions.  

CO2 Students will be able to identify legal issues

and principles underlying any given factual  Analyse
situation, and to undertake and present
research on such issues.

CO3 Students will be able to appreciate the legal Apply

research sources and tools and basic
techniques of legal and logical reasoning.
pinterest.com 3
 Hart’s Concept of Law

 Hart conceives law as a social phenomenon: It can

only be understood and explained by reference to
the actual social practices of the community.

 For a human society to survive as a collectivity,

certain rules must exist for the protection of persons
and property and also for ensuring that promises
are kept.

 Hart’s theory thus focuses on “rules”. For him, law

is a system of rules.
 Hart’s Concept of Law

 Unlike Austin, Hart believed that it was wrong to

identify law exclusively with the commands of the
Sovereign. He criticized the command theory for not
accounting for all the different kinds of rules that
we may justifiably call law.
 Two types of Rules by Hart

Primary Rules Secondary

Rules

According to Hart, law is a system of two types

of rules the union of which provides the key to
the science of jurisprudence.
 PRIMARY RULES

 These impose duties or obligations.

 These rules directly govern our behavior by telling

us what we ought and ought not to do.

 Their function is to preserve social order.

 Example: The law requiring us to stop at red light.

 PRIMARY RULES

 These rules are binding because of popular

acceptance. They are backed by social pressure
because they are necessary to regulate behavior
and maintain the society.

 These are unofficial rules.

 MAJOR DRAWBACKS OF PRIMARY
RULES:
1. UNCERTAINTY (identification and scope)

2. STATIC

3. INEFFICIENT (no mechanism of solution of

disputes through adjudication)
 Small social groups bonded by kinship and
shared beliefs living in a stable environment
may survive by primary rules alone. But as
society gets larger and more complex, primary
rules prove insufficient and defective. Hence,
there is a serious need for a different type of
rules, that is, secondary rules.
 SECONDARY RULES

 They confer powers.

 They enable the legislators to modify their policies

according to the needs of the society. Without
such rules, the society would become very static.

 Powers conferred maybe private (like power to

make a contract) or public (power of adjudication
or legislation).
 SECONDARY RULES

 These set up procedures through which

rules
primary rules can be introduced, modified
or enforced. Thus, these are rules about the
rules.

 Example: Family Courts Act

 TYPES OF SECONDARY RULES

Rules of Recognition
• It identifies a primary rule.
• It distinguishes between the social rules that
have authority of law and those that do not.
Rules of Change
• It gives the power to change the primary rule.
Rule of Adjudication
• It gives power to adjudicate dispute and pass
judgment, order etc.
• The procedure to be followed, the person
empowered to adjudicate etc.
DEFECTS OF PRIMARY RULES
OVERCOME BY SECONDARY
RULES
PRIMARY RULES SECONDARY
RULES
UNCERTAINTY RULES OF RECOGNITION

STATIC RULES OF CHANGE

INEFFICIENCY RULES OF ADJUDICATION

Primary rules become a part of the legal system
through their union with secondary rules. An
example of such a union may be taken as the
Industrial Disputes Act.

• This union of primary rules with the

secondary rules is the essence of law
according to Hart.
 Poll

Q. Choose the correct option from following:-

1. Hart conceives ‘law as a social phenomenon: It can only be
understood and explained by reference to the actual social
practices of the community’.
Whether this statement is true or false?
1. TRUE
2. FALSE

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 Assessment Pattern
Students are assessed on the
basis of the following
parameters:
• Assignments
• Surprise Test
• Quiz
• Discussion

paulhraymer.com 17
 References
e. Textbooks / Reference Books
 T1 Dr. S.R. Myneni, Legal Research Methodology (Allahabad Law Agency, 2017)
 T2 Prof. Tushar Kanti, Textbook on Legal Methods, Legal Systems &
Research (Universal Law Publishing - An imprint of LexisNexis, 2015)
 T3 Dr. G.P. Tripathi, Legal Methods (Central Law Publications. 2014)
 R1 Goode and Hall, Methods in Legal Research (Singapore: Mc Graw Hill Book
Co., 1985)
 R2 C.R. Kothari, Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques (New Delhi:
Newage International Publishers 2018)
 R3 Harvard Law Review Association, The Bluebook: Uniform System of Citation
(Harvard Law Review, Harvard)
 https://lawtimesjournal.in/what-are-the-different-classifications-of-law/#:~:tex
t=Law%20may%20be%20classified%20in,Substantive%20Law%20and%20Proce
dural%20Law&text=Common%20Law%20and%20equity

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THANK YOU

For queries
Email: himanshi.e10437@cumail.in