In this episode, we delve into the debate about legal validity and concept-construction methodology. What is exactly legal validity? What would be the most adequate way to construct a concept of legal validity? How is the idea of cluster concepts important for this debate? Do theoretical or conceptual distinctions have any practical relevance? Mathieu Carpentier discussed with us why legal validity is a key concept for legal theory and why it is better understood as a cluster concept, broken down into more elementary units of meaning. We explore first how – and why – acluster concept-construction methodology is more useful than other methodologies and then explore in-depth the elementary units Carpentier identify related to the concept of legal validity, as well as the internal relations among theseunits. Finally, touch upon the impact of all of these on the definition of the rule of recognition, and the relevance of this discussion and distinctions to legal positivism (including the inclusive and exclusive legal positivism debate).

Mathieu Carpentier is a Professor of Public Lawat the University of Toulouse Capitole and a Fellow of the Institut universitaire de France. He works on various issues in legal philosophy as well as constitutional law and theory and comparative constitutional law. His PhD thesis was devoted to legal defeasibility (it was published in French in 2014).He recently edited a book called “Meta-Theory of Law” (ISTE/Wiley, 2022). He has written around 50 papers in French and English.  

Listeners wanting to dive deeper in his work on legalvalidity, concept-construction and the methodology of jurisprudence can check some of his papers on SSRN: Sources and Validity (2018), Validity and Applicability: A Small Dose of Scepticism(2018), Kelsen on Derogation and Normative Conflicts (2020), Sources of Law (with Torben Spaak, 2024), Against “Legal Facts” (forthcoming 2025). French readers may also consult his Problèmes relatifs à l'identification temporelle des systèmesjuridiques (2023) and Controverses sur la “nature” du droit (2018). 

[This episode was hosted by Julieta Rabanos and Bojan Spaić; edited by Bojan Spaić; uploaded and formatted by Julieta Rabanos]

(00:00:00 ) Intro HAPL

(00:00:16 ) Introduction to the episode – hosts and guest

(00:01:30 ) Mathieu Carpentier – Academic Genealogy and Research Interests

(00:06:24 ) Legal Theory and Philosophy in France

(00:19:05 ) Legal Validity – Concept, Classical View, Importance for Legal Theory and Philosophy

(00:27:49 ) Legal Validity & Adequate Methodology of Concept-Construction

(00:32:50 ) Legal Validity as a Cluster Concept

(00:40:21 ) Legal Validity and its Units of Meaning (an Introduction)

(00:55:50 ) Legal Validity and the Concept of Legal System

(01:00:58 ) Legal Validity and its Units of Meaning – On Efficacy and Relation between Units

(01:09:24 ) Legal Validity and the Rule of Recognition

(01:21:31 ) Adequate Methodology of Conceptual Analysis and Concept-Construction

(01:30:22 ) Farewell and last words

(01:32:49 ) Outro HAPL