Q. "Law is the Hierarchy of norms". Comment. [2019 - 10 marks]
Hans Kelson
Hans Kelson, a law professor at Vienna University, served as a judge in Austria’s Supreme Constitutional Court from 1920 to 1930. Kelson is known for his pure theory of law which is normative in character and free of the influence of other knowledge of the world, particularly that of the social sciences.
Hierarchy of Norms
Kelsen's pure theory of law presents law as a hierarchy of norms, with each norm either validating, or being validated by, the norm which succeeds or precedes it within the hierarchy. 2 The validity of the hierarchy as a whole depends on the basic norm or grundnorm.
A legal order, according to Kelson, is made up of norms arranged in a hierarchical sequence, with one norm positioned above another and each norm getting its validity from the norm above it. The legal order is symbolised by the hierarchy, which takes the shape of a pyramid.
The hierarchy of norms in decreasing order is as follows:
1. International treaties and conventions
2. The constitution
3. Federal law
4. Statutes
5. Decrees
6. Regulations
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