Ayesha Masood

Essay from the year 2022 in the subject Law - Philosophy, History and Sociology of Law, grade: A, , course: Western Jurisprudence, language: English, abstract: This paper is an overview of John Austin's Command Theory, which comprises three elements that are discussed in length, along with relevant examples and jurists' points of view. Furthermore, we will discuss whether the criticism given by Hart was justified or whether the Austin theory itself was right. We will discuss elements of Austin's theory step by step and will provide valid justifications, examples and criticism. Austin's theory of law is also called the imperative theory of law. Austin's Theory is defined as the command of the Sovereign backed by sanctions. This theory has three elements: command which is specifically laws, sovereign meaning political body, and sanctions meaning penalties.