On the Nature of Legal Principles

The principles theory, introduced by Ronald Dworkin and developed further by Robert Alexy, is at the centre of various debates in legal philosophy and legal theory. In the controversy over the concept of law, the argument from principles is advanced on behalf of a necessary connection between law and morality. In legal argumentation, the balancing of principles increasingly complements the classical methods of law application.

The enquiry into weighing and balancing principles has led to important insights into the principle of proportionality, which for its part has proven to be of great importance in constitutional law, European law, and various other branches of law. This ARSP supplement brings together a number of contributions that address central aspects of the principles theory.