An Approximation to Legal Principles Based on Their Justifying Function

Abstract

This work intends to throw light upon some aspects of the debate on the characterization of legal principles and on their differences when compared to rules. Particularly, this analysis will propose to differentiate principles from rules by considering the functions they perform in law. To achieve this, we distinguish between the functions of guidance and justification that legal principles fulfill. From that distinction, we observe that the attempt to characterize legal principles based on the particular way in which they guide conduct does not seem to be the most appropriate either. In contrast, this paper tries to show that all the different types of precepts known as principles perform a particular justifying function in legal reasoning.