Applying the Laws of Logic to the Logic of Laws

The article begins by discussing the difficulties of proving consistency within a formal legal system generally. After establishing the importance of a formalized legal model as a prerequisite of rigorous examination of consistency, it proceeds to investigate issues intrinsic to the current system of law that may prevent formalization of a just legal system as currently conceived. The article argues that flexibility inherent in a just legal system may foreclose the possibility of legal formalization or any comprehensive model thereof. The article concludes, however, that a model whose purpose is the examination of consistency within a system need not necessarily retain the dynamic nature of real-world formalization.

Rather, a static model of legal formalization may avoid the complications confronting a comprehensive formalization of law, while retaining the fundamental values critical to examination of consistency within the law.