Current status of the three-dimensional theory of law

Abstract

The three-dimensional theory goes beyond the mere finding that the legal experience implies some correlation between facts, norms and values, since it aims to draw conclusions of wider application. The inquiry about the nature of each of these elements and the dialectical understanding of their relationship are key. Values are the most complex element of the triad. They differentiate from other ideal entities because they are achievable, inexhaustible, transcendental and polar, as understood in relation to their opposites and defined as historically objectified intentions in the process of the cultural that always implies the vectorial direction of a possible action. Facts are acts or facts in the strict sense, that is, independent of human initiative and acquire meaning “inter homines”. Laws are between the two, as positions adopted before the facts in a tensional function of values. The law is conceived as a dialectical integration of the three elements, as the normative integration of facts as values and its norms as positive form and axiological classification of the fact in a given situation. On the other hand, relations between the law and the world of life in which it is immersed are analysed, as a complementary reality to the reality of law and among which there are continuous interrelations. They are also analysed from the triple point of view of Natural Law, as a normative set of transcendental demand, positive law in the experiential level and the principles and categories governing the processes of interpretation of the norms.