Gustav Radbruch’s «Diritto E No. Tre Scritti» edited by M. Lalatta Costerbosa, Mimesis, Milano, 2021.

Abstract

Lately the attention of philosophers of law has focused on the figure of Gustav Radbruch, and, particularly, on his most famous theory: the Formula. Diritto e no, edited by Marina Lalatta Costerbosa, proposes an overview of Radbruch’s philosophy of law through the analysis of three of his papers: Der Mensch im Recht, Fünf Minuten Rechtsphilosophie and Gesetzliches Unrecht und übergesetzliches Recht. This work, together with the translation of the Philosophy of Law by Gaetano Carlizzi (Radbruch, 2021a), represents a perfect instrument for studying of one of the most important philosophers of the Nineteenth century.
In the introduction to Diritto e no Radbruch is rightly presented as the protagonist of the normative disruption determined by the Nazi regime (Radbruch, 2021b, p. 15-16), and, even if seems that Lalatta Costerbosa doesn’t want to express a clear position about the continuity or discontinuity in the radbruchian philosophy—because the purpose is openly to give a complete view of his philosophy of Law—, she clearly emphasizes the role that Radbruch played in the reconsideration of the positivist doctrine. In Lalatta Costerbosa’s opinion, the German philosopher could even be considered as the ancestor of the current theory of the inclusive legal positivism because of his reference to the necessity of substantial criteria of validity of law.

Download the article in PDF Visit Volume’s Index