AN INTRODUCTION TO ETHICAL/NORMATIVE LEGAL POSITIVISM: JEREMY WALDRON’S THEORY OF LAW

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14210/rdp.v20n2.p379-405

Keywords:

Normative legal positivism, Jeremy Waldron, Judicial Review

Abstract

Contextualization: The paper contextualizes the debate around legal positivism by presenting Jeremy Waldron’s proposal, which transforms the descriptive thesis of the separation between law and morality into a normative defense directed at contemporary constitutional democracies.

Objectives: The objective of this article is to present an introduction to Jeremy Waldron’s normative legal positivism, a theory that seeks to articulate positivism—until then an essentially descriptive thesis—with a prescriptive thesis about law.

Methodology: This study adopts the theoretical-bibliographic research method, grounded in a critical analysis of specialized literature in legal philosophy and legal theory. The approach is analytical and prescriptive, insofar as it seeks not only to describe concepts but also to discuss their normative foundations and implications for democratic theory and for constitutional

Results: The article concludes that Jeremy Waldron’s normative theory reaffirms the separation between law and morality as a democratic requirement, by maintaining that the Legislative Power, due to its representative legitimacy, must prevail over the Judiciary in the resolution of fundamental moral disagreements.

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Author Biographies

Lucas Sipioni Furtado de Medeiros, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná – PUCPR

Professor Adjunto de Direito Administrativo e Econômico da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná – PUCPR. Doutor e Mestre em Direito do Estado pela Universidade de São Paulo – USP. Especialista em Direito Tributário pela PUCPR. Especialista em Direito Econômico pela Sociedade Brasileira de Direito Público. MBA em Gestão Estratégica de Empresas pela ISAE/FGV. E-mail: bernardo@strobelguimaraes.com. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/0678600050387547. Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2826-7607.

Luis Henrique Braga Madalena, Academia Brasileira de Direito Constitucional – ABDConst.

Doutor em Teoria e Filosofia do Direito pela Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro – UERJ. Mestre em Direito Público pela UNISINOS-RS. Especialista em Direito Constitucional e Teoria Geral do Direito pela Academia Brasileira de Direito Constitucional – ABDConst. Editor Adjunto da Revista Eletrônica da ABDConst:  Constituição, Economia e Desenvolvimento. Coordenador Geral e Vice-Diretor Financeiro da ABDConst.  Coordenador da Pós de Teoria do Direito, Dogmática Crítica e Hermenêutica (ABDConst). E-mail:  luishenrique7@gmail.com. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/0874477652560454. Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2600-0389.

Bernardo Strobel Guimarães, Universidade Federal do Paraná – UFPR

Mestrando em Direito pela Universidade Federal do Paraná – UFPR. Especialista em Direito Constitucional pela Academia Brasileira de Direito Constitucional – ABDConst, e em Teoria do Direito, Dogmática Crítica e Hermenêutica pela mesma Instituição.

References

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WALDRON, Jeremy. Law and disagreement. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

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WALDRON, Jeremy. Authority for officials. In.: MEYER, Lukas; PAULSON, Stanley; POGGE, Thomas. (Ed.). Rights, culture, and the law: themes from the legal and political philosophy of Joseph Raz. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

WALDRON, Jeremy. The concept and the rule of law. NYU School of Law, Public Law Research Paper nº 08-50. Disponível em <https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1273005>. Acesso em 05 set. 2021.

WALDRON, Jeremy. The Core of the Case Against Judicial Review. The Yale Law Journal, vol. 115, n. 06, 2006. Disponível em <https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/ylj/vol115/iss6/3/>. Acesso em 06 set. 2021.

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Published

2025-08-29

How to Cite

MEDEIROS, Lucas Sipioni Furtado de; MADALENA, Luis Henrique Braga; GUIMARÃES, Bernardo Strobel. AN INTRODUCTION TO ETHICAL/NORMATIVE LEGAL POSITIVISM: JEREMY WALDRON’S THEORY OF LAW. Electronic Journal of Law and Politics, [S. l.], v. 20, n. 2, p. 379–405, 2025. DOI: 10.14210/rdp.v20n2.p379-405. Disponível em: https://periodicos.univali.br/index.php/rdp/article/view/21441. Acesso em: 5 dec. 2025.

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