A Study Of L.L. Fuller's Legal Thought: Relation Between Law And Morality

There is no doubt that the natural law is so important in jurisprudence. The theory of natural law almost takes a dominant role from the time of ancient Greece to the 18th century. But the positive law began to compete with natural law theory in the modern era. The polemic between L. L. Fuller & H. L. A. Hart is a wonderful exhibition of that kind of competition. In this long-lasting debate Fuller initiates a neo-natural law theory, namely the inner morality of law. And it is argued that only when a law satisfies the principles of the inner morality of law, can it be called a real law. These principles are: law must be general; law must be public; law must be clear; it is possible to be obeyed; law must be relatively constant and prospective; finally, there must be congruence between official action and declared rule. Since his idea is different from the traditonal natural law theories, so Fuller names it as procedure natural law.This paper begins with such long-lasting polemic between natural law and postivisim, shows the substance of the debate and demonstrates the ture face of the debate between Fuller and Hart. It then analyzes the procedure natural law and elaborates the theme of the morality of law by presenting some relevant cases in China.In chapter one the author will give an introduction to Fuller's life. On its basis, the internal morality of law and history of natural law are discussed in the Chapter Two. In the first half of chapter two readers will see how Fuller interprets the teleology of law, the morality of law, and the logical relation between the morality and the law, as well as how Fuller argues with the theory of teleology of law against the basic tenet of positivism—law and morality can be separated. In the second half of chapter two, the author will illustrate in detail what elements the internal morality includes. Meanwhile, cases from China will be studied in light of Fuller's teachings, with the purpose that the theory of internal morality of law and practice of justice can be connected.The last part of the paper is conclusion. In the conclusion the writer will make a general statement on Fuller's argument with Hart and present the opinion that how much Fullers' procedural natural law theory can be workable without the context on which ancient natural law theories rely. Will the debate between Hart and Fuller inspire people in China to reflect upon the issues, like whether and how people should show respect to law, whether law and morality should be separated, or whether they should be combined? The author believes that whatever the answers might be, the pursuit for procedural justice will guide people to reach the real justice, and thus the internal morality of law will inevitably become an integral part of real justice.