ANTITHETICAL PERSPECTIVE OF LEGAL FORMALISM AND LEGAL REALISM

Abstract

The necessity to outline a historical context is implicit in study of legal theories of formalism and realism. Understanding those notions presumes also understanding the social and polical context from the time of elaboration. The main purpose of legal debates about this subject is to identify the preferable path for adjudicating particular cases, between mechanical application of existing legal rules and judge’s possibility to use personal values, beliefs or ideological theories. The dispute about the measure of constraint by the text of the law has the aim of achieve the way to better decisions.

Keywords

• Legal formalism
• textualism
• legal realism
• political influences
• legal decisions