Topic > Command Theory of Law by H. L. Hart and John Austin

Set up the procedures by which primary rules can be introduced, modified, or enforced. Continuing with our football metaphor, an example of a secondary rule would be that a red card can be overturned after an appeal for retrospective review. Hart argues that only the most trustworthy and good-willed societies can survive with only primary rules. In reality, our societies are not so idyllic and many problems will arise. Since there would be no systematic method for creating rules, there would be uncertainty about what the rules actually are; the system would be very static, as any changes in the rules would have to happen organically; finally, without a defined adjudication method, inefficiencies would arise from disputes over whether a rule was actually violated. These three problems can be remedied by introducing three types of secondary rules, in order: recognition rules, change rules and rules of