Rafie Juliano Devito – 1806174465 KKI

Philosophy of Law
Critical Legal Studies (CLS) is a legal school of thought that opposes and is unhappy with the
liberal legal school of thought, particularly legal theory that has a legal separation from the
political process and appears to be neutral legislation. This presumption occurs because the
law does not operate in a vacuum, but rather in a non-neutral and subjective world. The
outcome was a fall in legal practice in the United States during the time. Some legal experts
believe that the major issue is legal formalism, which has never given justice to the justice-
seeking population, prompting the emergence of a new thinking to address the situation. The
belief that the law has failed to solve existing problems is one of the factors that contributed
to the formation of CLS. CLS denies the distinction between theory and practice, as well as
the distinction between facts and values, both of which are liberalism's hallmarks. As a result,
this school dismisses the notion of pure theory in favor of theories that impact practical social
transformation. According to N.D. White's purpose of CLS is to delegitimize truth claims,
dismantle power and domination to form a just and equal system, so that legal doctrines that
have been formed can be reconstructed to reflect the existing pluralism of values. CLS rejects
the notion that law is separate from political, economic, social and cultural elements as
conceptualized by Hans Kelsen with his theory of the pure theory of law, which desires that
the law must be free from non-legal elements such as political, social , economic and others.
CLS's thinking lies in the fact that law is politics so that CLS rejects and attacks the positivist
beliefs in legal science. CLS criticized the applicable law for being politically biased and never
neutral. The legal doctrine that has been formed so far is actually more in favor of those who
have power, so it is concluded that the law is flawed from birth because it was formed through
political "battles" that tend to be partial and subjective for the interests of certain groups. CLS
gives an example of how the law is always “interrupted” with political and economic interests
in legislators who are making a law. According to CLS, in every law formation, there must be
two overshadowing interests, namely the interests of power relations and market relations
(economics). As a result, the laws made by the state often comply with the wishes of people
who are geopolitically close to power so that the provisions in the laws that are being made
can be according to their tastes. Mahfud MD revealed that there is indeed a relationship
between law and politics. Law is a variable that depends on political variables. So the "color"
of the law will depend on the ruling political regime. If the political system has an
authoritarian character, then the legal product is repressive. On the other hand, if the political
system has a democratic character, then the legal product is responsive. Meanwhile,
Rafie Juliano Devito – 1806174465 KKI
Philosophy of Law
economic ties dictate that every law-making process is enticed by material gains for the
capitalists who "sponsor" the laws being enacted. They have an interest in the law because
of economic, material, and profit objectives, while ignoring the interests of the people. People
who benefit economically are undoubtedly very concerned about any legislation affecting
their business, because business requires suitable restrictions.