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