Abstract

Ronald Dworkin's theory is characterized by at least two basic aspects: the thesis of the inseparable interconnection between law and morality, and that of the close relationship between the theoretical positions discussed and the detailed examination of specific court cases. The conception that depicts law merely as a complex of rules overshadows the important role played by standards, and more generally the importance of interpretation in judicial decisions: this argument causes a profound confutation of one of the theoretical assumptions of legal positivism, that for which only rules are binding strongly on the courts. His research pattern leads Dworkin to recognize the need for a broader view of value and to confront the fundamental question of what are the truths in ethics and morality.