Command Theory of Law
- Theory
- Command Theory of Law
- Jurist
- John Austin
- Description
A foundational legal positivist theory holding that law is the command of a sovereign, backed by the threat of a sanction, and habitually obeyed by the bulk of society. Building on Bentham, Austin separated law as it is from law as it ought to be, rejecting natural law; later criticised by H.L.A. Hart for ignoring power-conferring rules and the rule of recognition.