Austin and Hart

“an intimation or expression of a wish to do or forbear from doing something, backed up by the power to do harm to the actor in case he disobeys.”

a sovereign is “someone to whom the bulk of the given society are in a habit of obedience; and he is not in a habit of obedience to anyone.” (habitual obedience)

what counts as law in a given society is a matter of social fact

there is no necessary connection between law and morality

substantive moral principles can count as part of a community’s binding law in virtue of their status as moral principles if the relevant rule of recognition includes a provision to that effect.

strict separation

the critical reflective attitude shared by the group members (in this case the legal profession) towards the conforming or violating conduct of a person.

• 1) the rules of behaviour are generally obeyed; and
• 2) the officials accept the rules specifying the criteria for legal validity.

• These “specify some feature or features possession of which by a suggested rule is taken as a conclusive affirmative indication that it is a rule of the group to be supported bny the social pressure it exerts” (CL, 92):
• “a rule for conclusive identification of the primary rules of obligation” (ibid)