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“Vom Wesen und Wert der Demokratie“ von Hans Kelsen aus heutiger Sicht
Der Staat, Vol. 47 (2008), Iss. 1 : pp. 108–119
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1Prof. Dr. Jan Wiktor Tkaczynski, Lehrstuhl für Europastudien, Jagiellonen-Universität Krakau, Jodlowa 13, 30-252 Kraków, Polen.
Abstract
Democracy – a subject which is spoken and written about a lot. As far as the source of the idea is concerned, it seems not to cause serious controversies. Nevertheless, the way in which it is interpreted remains very different today. Consequently, the idea of the democratic rule of law remains different. Hans Kelsen, one of the most acclaimed theorists of law in the previous century, belongs to that kind of scientists and writers at the same time, whose works are used and cited very often. This is not because his remarks still have the value of being current, but mainly because of the fact that he did not hesitate to stand first by the side of rights and freedom of an individual and just then by the side of a state, which was very uncommon of a theorist of law and political science. It should be repeated over and over again that democracy in its best kind is a factor holding individuals together. The individuals who are conscious, to cite it again after Kelsen, of their rights and freedom.