Philosophy of Law and Jurisprudence in Britain (1945-1952)
![handle is hein.journals/amcomp2 and id is 363 raw text is: H. L. A. HART
Philosophy of Law and Jurisprudence in
Britain (1945-1952)
B ETWEEN THE STUDY AND PROFESSION of the law in England and the
same activities in America, there are certain differences which are at least
as important as the similarities. Though perfectly familiar to most Ameri-
can lawyers, these differences are often overlooked, and since an account
of English legal thought at any period is hardly intelligible unless they
are remembered, I shall prefix my account with a reminder of the familiar.
First, but least important, is the difference in scale. The number of practic-
ing lawyers, law teachers, and students in Britain is minute in compari-
son with the United States, and the opportunities for the publication of
articles on general or abstract subjects connected with the law is corie-
spondingly small. There are at present five legal' and four philosophical
journals where such articles may occasionally appear; so compared with
the vast flood of American legal writing, the work of English philosophers
and jurists is bound to appear a mere trickle.
Secondly, the English legal profession is still divided into two rigorously
separated branches, and in spite of a certain overlap in litigation in the
lower courts and in conveyancing and advisory work of a medium degree
of difficulty and importance, this division between solicitors arid bar-
risters still represents a genuine specialization of function. In addition,
there is among English barristers a degree of specialization in different
branches of the law far greater, ]' think, than among lawyers in America.
For though every division of the High Court of Justice in England has
jurisdiction to administer both law and equity, yet the Chancery Division
is in practice still very much a court of equity and the.Queen's Bench
Division a court of common law. Most barristers regard themselves as
either a common-lawyer, or a. Chancery barrister and work normally
in only one of the divisions of the High Court, and to a slightly lesser
H. L. A. HART is Professor of Jurisprudence, Oxford University, and a Member of the Eng-
lish Bar.
I These (with the abbreviations used here) are: The Law Quarterly Review (L.Q.R.);
The Modern Law Review (M.L.R.); The Cambridge Law Journal (C.L.J.); The Juridical
Review; British Year Book of International Law.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/amcomp2&div=31&collection=journals&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Philosophy of Law and Jurisprudence in Britain (1945-1952)
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