''The Province of Jurisprudence Determined'' is a book written by

John Austin John Austin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John P. Austin (1906–1997), American set decorator * Johnny Austin (1910–1983), American musician * John Austin (author) (fl. 1940s), British novelist Military * John Austin (soldier) (180 ...

, first published in 1832, in which he sets out his theory of law generally known as the 'command theory'. Austin believed that the science of general jurisprudence consisted in the clarification and arrangement of fundamental legal notions. His object in this book is to identify the distinguishing characteristics of positive law to free it from the precepts of religion and morality. The book consists of six lectures designed to be delivered in a law school setting. Although his theory did not receive significant attention in the 19th Century, it has since become central to the jurisprudential canon, and has been criticised, adapted and enlarged upon by subsequent jurists such as

H. L. A. Hart Herbert Lionel Adolphus Hart (18 July 190719 December 1992), known simply as H. L. A. Hart, was an English legal philosopher. He was Professor of Jurisprudence (University of Oxford), Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford University an ...

and

Ronald Dworkin Ronald Myles Dworkin (; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New Yo ...

. Austin was a student of

Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...

, and as such subscribed to

Utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...

. He adopted this perspective in his understanding of law, and argued that all laws should work toward promoting the greatest good for the greatest number of people. According to Austin, a law is 'a rule laid down for the guidance of an intelligent being by an intelligent being having power over him.' This was what Austin defined as positive law. Austin believed that positive law was the appropriate focus of study for jurisprudence. He states that: According to Austin, the sovereign could not be legally limited, 'supreme power limited by positive law is a flat contradiction in terms' he states. However, he did concede that a sovereign may be limited in a non-legal sense by 'popular opinion'. He defined divine law as 'law set by God to his human creatures'. Although he contends that God's (law) is above and beyond human law, he also states that:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Province Of Jurisprudence Determined 1832 books Books about jurisprudence