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Jurisprudential Oaks From Mythical Acorns: The Hart‐Dworkin Debate Revisited, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article attempts to demonstrate, via the famous Hart-Dworkin debate on the nature and functions of judicial discretion, that substantial jurisprudential disputes as well as theories can, and do, arise from misconceived critiques, whether intended or otherwise. It also seeks to show that, whilst Dworkin's initial critique of Hart was misconceived, his theory of adjudication that arose as a result of responses to his initial views is a positive contribution to learning, although I argue that Dworkin's views are not, in the final analysis, sufficiently persuasive to constitute a radical departure from Hart's own views.