Secondary Rules Research Paper

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Pages: 3

2. Secondary Rules are those that stipulate how and by whom the primary rules may be formed, recognized modified or extinguished. Vagueness or ambiguity in the secondary rules of a legal system may also cause uncertainty as to whether powers have been conferred on individuals in accordance with statutory requirements or may cause uncertainty as to whether legislators have the authority to change laws. Vagueness or ambiguity in the secondary rules of a legal system may also cause uncertainty as to whether courts have jurisdiction over disputes concerning the interpretation and application of laws. Secondary rules can be thought of as rules about the rules. Continuing with our football metaphor, an example of a secondary rule would be that a coach is permitted to challenge a call by the referee, but must accept the final decision of the ref following the viewing of the instant replay. When analyzing the necessity for secondary rules, Hart imagines a simple society, with only primary rules, but concludes that such a society would face a number of challenges: because there would be no systematic method of rule creation, there would be uncertainty about what …show more content…
The rule of recognition tells us how to identify a law. In modern systems with multiple sources of law such as a written constitution, legislative enactments, and judicial precedents, rules of recognition can be quite complex and require a hierarchy where some types rules overrule others. The rule or recognition is presumed to exist if it is actually accepted and employed in general practice. In this respect, the existence of the rule of recognition is an external statement of fact. While laws can be valid even if defacto no one abides by them, the rule of recognition can only exist if courts, legislators, officials, and citizens act in a consistent way that corresponds with the presumed existence and acceptance of such a