ILR 11

Who is Neil MacCormick?

• A Scottish legal philosopher known for his work on legal reasoning

• A political activist

• A judge from the United States

• A classical economist

What is MacCormick best known for in legal theory?

• Creating criminal law systems

• Developing contract law rules

• His theory of legal reasoning and interpretation

• His reform of jury procedures

What concept did MacCormick emphasize in his theory of legal reasoning?

• Legal reasoning involves justification based on principles, rules, and coherence

• Legal texts must always be interpreted literally

• Judicial decisions rely only on emotion

• Law is just a tool for government power

Which of the following best describes MacCormick’s view of legal argumentation?

• Purely deductive and formal

• Always subjective

• Focused only on outcomes, not reasoning

• A practical reasoning process that balances rules and principles

What was one of MacCormick’s major contributions to jurisprudence?

• He denied the need for legal justification

• He introduced the idea of institutional normative order

• He argued that laws should be ignored in moral cases

• He replaced law with political debate

According to MacCormick, legal justification involves:

• Random decision-making

• Following a political ideology

• Providing reasoned arguments that connect facts, rules, and legal principles

• Consulting religious authorities

In MacCormick’s theory, what does universalizability mean in legal justification?

• A rule should apply only to certain individuals

• A rule is valid only if it benefits the government

• A legal decision should be justifiable in the same way in all similar cases

• A law must be universal to all countries

What is the role of deductive justification in MacCormick’s legal theory?

• It supports decisions based on intuition

• It guarantees outcomes based on religious beliefs

• It allows judges to make decisions emotionally

• It connects legal conclusions logically to established rules and facts

According to MacCormick, why is universalizability important in legal reasoning?

• To allow flexibility in applying the law

• To ensure fairness and consistency across cases

• To prioritize the judge’s opinion

• To let politics guide legal decisions

In MacCormick’s view, deductive reasoning is used to:

• Derive conclusions from general legal rules and case facts

• Justify legal decisions by appealing to tradition

• Ensure outcomes that match public opinion

• Avoid formal rules