Legal Literacy - This article discusses the pure theory of law conceived by Hans Kelsen. Let's take a look together at what the pure theory of law is.

The Pure Theory of Law criticizes natural law theory, classical legal theory, sociology of law, and Analytical Jurisprudence. The Pure Theory of Law also opposes American legal realism. As a critique of natural law, the Pure Theory of Law frees law from the remnants of animism which views nature as the shaper of law and frees law from the ideological character of the concept of justice and/or value judgments.

Pure Theory of Law, in its critique of the sociology of law and conventional legal theory, detaches law from the empirical realm, namely the political realm, as well as from the ideological character of value judgments and the concept of justice embraced by the political realm. The Pure Theory of Law considers law as a norm at the level of Ought/das Sollen, which is different from the empirical realm, as a critique of Analytical Jurisprudence, because Austin teaches that law is an order at the level of Is/das Seitz in the empirical realm.

Thus, Pure Law Theory frees law from non-legal considerations such as psychology, sociology, ethics (moral philosophy), and politics. By using the neo-canonical philosophy of the Marburg school as a list of ideas, the purification of law from non-legal aspects is achieved. The Neo-Kantianism of the Marburg school clearly distinguishes between what should be/das Sollen and what I/das Sin, as well as between form and substance. In line with this, Kelsen clearly distinguishes legal norms at the level of Ought I das Sollen from the empirical field at the level of Is I/das Seitz, and clearly distinguishes formal law from material law.

The Pure Theory of Law only recognizes formal law as the object of cognitive study of legal science, while material law is not included in the field of object of study of legal science, because material law contains promises of justice in the ideological field, which are implemented in the political field at the practical level. Study of theory constitutional law is limited to formal statutory regulations based on their validity, which form a hierarchical system of legal norms with "Grundnorm" as its peak.

Because its study only focuses on formal law based on its validity, the Pure Theory of Law only sees law from a formal juridical perspective, ignoring material law in which there are legal ideals in the concept of justice and moral considerations.

The Pure Theory of Law has the potential to give rise to problems of excessive authority for law-making and/or implementing bodies, and one solution is the need for more comprehensive guidance and/or limitations in the application of general legal norms or the development of specific legal norms.

As a result of the separation between law and morality, law has the capacity to override or violate humanity; therefore, in order for law not to violate humanity, law must take morality into account. Regardless of its shortcomings, the stufentheori theory in the Pure Theory of Law also contributes to the field of legal systems. The Pure Theory of Law is also a variant of the rule of law theory, which attempts to prevent totalitarian government and pure anarchy.