NYULawReview-83-4-Schauer

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1、\server05productnNNYU83-4NYU406.txtunknownSeq:119-SEP-0812:36ACRITICALGUIDETOVEHICLESINTHEPARKFREDERICKSCHAUER*The1958debatebetweenLonFullerandH.L.A.HartinthepagesoftheHarvardLawReviewisoneofthelandmarksofmodernjurisprudence.Muchofthedebatewasaboutth

2、erelativemeritsofHart’sversionoflegalpositivismandFuller’sbrandofnaturallawtheory,butthedebatealsocontainedthememorablecontro-versyoverthefictionalruleprohibitingvehiclesfromthepark.Hartusedtheexampletomaintainthatruleshaveacoreofclearapplicationssurrounde

3、dbyapenumbraofuncertainty,butFullerofferedacounterexampletoinsistthatthelan-guageofarule,byitself,couldneverdetermineanylegaloutcome.Atonelevel,therefore,thedebatewasabouttherelativeimportanceoflanguageandpurposeinapplyingageneralruletoaparticularissue.Ata

4、deeperlevel,however,thedebatewasabouttheformalityoflawandaboutthepossibilityofvaryingcommitmentstoformalityindifferentlegalsystems.Byexaminingthisdebate,andbylargelyremovingitfromthesurroundingcontroversyoverpositivismandnaturallaw,wecangainvaluableinsight

5、saboutlegalrules,legalinterpretation,andthenatureoflegallanguage.INTRODUCTIONItisthemostfamoushypotheticalinthecommonlawworld.Anditispartofoneofthemorememorabledebatesinthehistoryofjurisprudence.Stunninginitssimplicity,H.L.A.Hart’sexampleofaruleprohibiting

6、vehiclesfromapublicparkwasintendedprimarilyasaresponsetotheclaimsofthelegalrealistsabouttheindeterminacyoflegalrules.1Hartbelievedthatmanyoftherealistswereobsessedwithdifficultappellatecasesatthefragileedgesofthelawand,asaresult,overestimatedlaw’sepiphenom

7、enalindeterminacyandvastlyunderestimateditseverydaydeterminacy.Throughtheexampleoftheruleexcludingvehiclesfromthepark,HarthopedtodifferentiatethestraightforwardapplicationsofaruleatwhatHartcalledtherule’s*Copyright2008byFrederickSchauer,DavidandMaryHarris

8、onDistinguishedProfessorofLaw,UniversityofVirginia;VisitingProfessorofLaw,HarvardLawSchool;GeorgeEastmanVisitingProfessorandFellowofBalliolCollege,UniversityofOxford.ThisArticlewaspreparedfortheSymposiumonthe