Kelsen s pure theory of law was first presented in his fundamen. In response to his dissertation, kelsen was challenged by the neokantians, originally led by hermann. It was in the second phase of development, however, once world war ii was over and the nazi extermination camps came to light, that continental legal positivism fell into its worst crisis. Hans kelsen 18811973 remains one of the most discussed and influential legal philosophers of our time. Hans kelsen versteht nun unter seiner reinen rechtslehre aus schlie. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Over a number of decades, he developed an important legal theory which found its first complete exposition in reine rechtslehre, or pure theory of law, the first edition of. In the i ntroduction to 1 992 translation of reine. Pdf visualization of hans kelsens pure theory of law. Rphil hans kelsen, was ist gerechtigkeit 1953 universitat bern. Pdf hans kelsen s pure theory of law is the most prominent and influential legal theory for continental law systems. Hans kelsen on international haw 327 the austrian republic. Reine rechtslehre is a book by legal theorist hans kelsen, first published in 1934 and in a greatly expanded second edition.