The 1920 Austrian Constitution, which remains in force through various amendments today, stands as the primary structural achievement of Hans Kelsen. A jurist and philosopher of immense reach, he developed the "pure theory of law," an analytical framework designed to describe legal systems through value-independent methodology rather than sociological or moral interpretation.
Academic Foundations and Early Legal Theory
Born in Prague in 1881, Kelsen moved to Vienna with his family in 1884. He completed his education at the Akademisches Gymnasium before attending the University of Vienna, where he earned a doctorate in law in 1906. His habilitation followed in 1911. During his early career, he spent three semesters at Heidelberg University, studying under Georg Jellinek. This experience influenced his critique of the dualist distinction between state and law. Kelsen rejected the theory of state self-limitation, instead endorsing a monistic doctrine that identified the state directly with the legal order.
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Kelsen ascended to a full professorship of public and administrative law at the University of Vienna in 1919. At the request of Chancellor Karl Renner, he drafted the new Austrian Constitution, which was enacted in 1920. Following this achievement, he served as a member of the Constitutional Court of Austria for his lifetime. During this period, he also founded and edited the Zeitschrift für öffentliches Recht.
Career and Migration
The growth of totalitarian regimes led Kelsen to leave Austria, working at the University of Cologne before continuing his career in Switzerland and eventually moving to the United States in 1940. He held academic roles at the Graduate Institute of International Studies, the Naval War College, and the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. From 1942 until his retirement in 1952, he was a member of the department of politics at the University of California, Berkeley. Throughout his career, he remained a member of organizations including the Institut de Droit International and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Refinement of the Pure Theory
Kelsen consistently expanded upon his legal philosophy throughout his life. He published his seminal work, Reine Rechtslehre, in 1934. After his retirement, he produced a significantly expanded second edition in 1960, which was published in English in 1967. His contributions to constitutional and international law earned him numerous honors, including honorary doctorates from Harvard University, the University of Paris, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico, as well as the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art.
Fast facts
- Born: 1881, Prague
- Died: 1973, Berkeley
- Primary Field: Constitutional Law
- Citizenship: United States, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Cisleithania
- Key Publication: Reine Rechtslehre
- Religion: Catholicism, Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession
Questions readers ask
What is the pure theory of law?
It is a legal theory providing foundations for a value-independent description of law, developed by Kelsen to separate legal analysis from moral or sociological assessments.
Did Kelsen hold a permanent position at a U.S. law school?
No, despite being recognized as a leading jurist of his time, Kelsen was never given a permanent position in a law school during his time in the United States.
Achievements
- Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Affiliated with University of Vienna, University of California, Berkeley and University of Cologne
- Educated at University of Vienna, Harvard University and Heidelberg University
- Worked as lawyer, judge and philosopher
