The Model of Principles

H. L. A.

Hart's work has dominated much of current jurisprudential discussion. In a recent article evaluating Hart's conclusion that the law consists of sets of rules in the application of which judges often have a large measure of discretion, Professor Dworkin of Yale concluded that judges do not in fact possess any such discretion because the judicial application of legal rules is controlled by what he calls legal principles. The author takes exception with Dworkin's conclusions and attacks the analytical framework of rules and principles upon which it is based.