Summary

The position claiming that any law, regardless of its content, is applicable and binding is taken under scrutiny. Referring to the history, the author argues that this position may be as dangerous as the ideology of law making an extensive use of postulates of the general good. The author opposes the wish for power with that for justice and equals the latter with the law. The author argues that unjust and generally detrimental laws cannot constitute the law. The author calls lawyers to stand up against the binding nature of such laws. When looking for the legal principles that rule out the applicability of a law, the author turns to declarations on human and civil rights.
The article was first published in German under the title Fünf Minuten Rechtsphilosophie in the newspaper Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung (12 September 1945).