By Newsroom (https://jurinews.com.br/en/destaque-nacional/robert-alexy-one-of-the-most-influential-jurists-in-the-world-dies-at-the-age-of-80)

Robert Alexy, one of the most influential jurists in the world, dies at the age of 80.

The world legal scene lost one of its greatest exponents with the death of the legal philosopher Robert Alexy at the age of 80. Professor at Kiel University in Germany, Alexy established himself as one of the most influential figures in contemporary legal thought, being widely recognized for his contributions to the fields of Theory of Principles and Theory of Legal Argumentation.

Graduated in Law and Philosophy from the University of Göttingen, Alexy was a disciple of Ralf Dreier. His academic career reached its peak with the publication of works that became pillars of modern Constitutional Law. In 1976, he completed his doctoral dissertation entitled A Theory of Legal Argumentation, a work that established new standards for the logic and reasoning of judicial decisions.

Later, in 1984, he obtained his qualification from the “Theory of Fundamental Rights”, a work that introduced the analytical distinction between rules and principles, in addition to consolidating the application of the principle of proportionality. Throughout his career, he received several honors, including the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2010.

Robert Alexy’s relationship with Brazil was close. In 2016, the jurist was in São Paulo to participate in an event promoted by the Association of Labor Justice Magistrates of the 2nd Region (Amatra-2), in the Fórum Trabalhista da Barra Funda. At the time, he detailed the functioning of his theory, reinforcing how weighting should be applied to resolve conflicts between fundamental rights.

The Supreme Court (STF) expressed official mourning over the jurist’s passing. In a note, the Court pointed out that Alexy’s research revolutionized the understanding of Constitutional Law by providing a universal vocabulary for the resolution of normative conflicts. The Court also pointed out that the formula of proportionality developed by the teacher continues to guide the Brazilian jurisprudence and that of several other international constitutional courts.

The death of the jurist occurred this last Saturday (5/9).

L. Burazin (Legal Theory Department, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb) published Methodology of (Continental European) Legal Science. Research Objectives, Questions, and Methods in Isonomia – La revista de teoría y filosofía del derecho, 64 (2026), pp. 1 – 35.

Katedra za teoriju prava poziva zainteresirane studente 5. godine studija da se uključe u provedbu istraživanja metodoloških aspekata hrvatske pravne znanosti u okviru kojega bi izradili svoje diplomske radove.

Riječ je o empirijskim istraživanjima koja se temelje na analizi sadržaja hrvatske pravnoznanstvene literature. Cilj istraživanja je ispitati na koji način hrvatski pravni znanstvenici opisuju, objašnjavaju, vrednuju, oblikuju i usustavljuju pozitivno pravo.

Mentori diplomskih radova proizašlih iz ovih istraživanja bit će prof. dr. sc. Luka Burazin i izv. prof. dr. sc. Mario Krešić.

Primjeri sličnih istraživanja (od kojih je jedno rezultiralo objavom diplomskog rada u Zagrebačkoj pravnoj reviji) dostupni su na sljedećim poveznicama:

1. https://hrcak.srce.hr/clanak/460061
2. https://repozitorij.pravo.unizg.hr/object/pravo:7378

Zainteresirani studenti mogu se javiti na e-mail adrese: lburazin@pravo.hr ili mario.kresic@pravo.hr.

Objavljen je rad L. Burazin, S. Relac, Pogrešna primjena materijalnog prava. Teorijskopravna tipologija, Zbornik radova Pravnog fakulteta u Splitu, god. 62, 4/2025, str. 545-583. Rad se može preuzeti s: https://hrcak.srce.hr/347627

Na temelju sinteze prethodno rekonstruiranih doktrinarnih tipologija i klasifikacije utvrđenih grešaka, u radu se konstruira opća teorijskopravna tipologija grešaka u primjeni materijalnog prava koja je primjenljiva na različite pravne postupke. Greške u primjeni materijalnog prava dijele se na greške u utvrđivanju norme, rodnom i pojedinačnom podvođenju utvrđenog činjeničnog stanja pod doseg primjene utvrđene norme i određivanju pravne posljedice. Za svaku od tih grešaka utvrđuju se specifični razlozi koji do njih dovode.

Tipologija bi trebala pomoći hrvatskim pravnim znanstvenicima u boljem opisivanju i usustavljivanju pravnog uređenja žalbenog razloga pogrešne primjene materijalnog prava i provođenju preciznijih analiza slučajeva pogrešne primjene materijalnog prava u hrvatskoj sudskoj i upravnoj praksi te hrvatskim pravnim praktičarima u jasnijem prepoznavanju različitih slučajeva pogrešne primjene materijalnog prava u postupcima (sudske i upravne) primjene prava.

We invite interested students (particularly those in advanced years of study) as well as young researchers to apply for participation in scientific research as an external collaborator based on a voluntary agreement, within the framework of the above-mentioned project, financed by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU.

Applications with a motivation letter and CV (in Croatian, Spanish, Italian, or English) should be sent by 1 March 2026 to the email: mdelgadonieves@pravo.hr.

More information, including requirements, benefits and job description can be found on the following link.

Kenneth Himma napisao je recenziju nadolazećeg enciklopedijskog unosa Luke Burazina o naturaliziranoj filozofiji prava u Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Legal Theory and Philosophy of Law (John Linarelli ur.).

Recenzija je dostupna na https://juris.jotwell.com/what-is-naturalized-jurisprudence/

Objavljen je članak L Burazin, On Hoerster’s Misinterpretation of Kelsen in What is Law?, Analisi e Diritto, vol. 25, br. 1, (2025). Članak je dostupan na: https://www.journal.edizioniets.eu/index.php/aed/article/view/1390

We are saddened to note that Professor Zoran Pokrovac, a long-standing member of the Croatian section of the IVR and its president from 2011 to 2015, passed away on 24 September 2025. Professor Ivan Padjen has written an In memoriam, which is available here.

Three members of the Zagreb Legal Theory Group participated in the 17th CEE Forum for Young Legal, Political, and Social Theorists, held at the Law Faculty of the University of Split on 25th and 26th of September 2025.

Paula Sviben delivered a presentation titled “The CJEU’s Conceptual Approach to the Rule of Law and Judicial Independence.”

Svan Relac delivered a presentation titled “Is Lex Posterior Necessary in Legal Systems?”

Marianela Delgado delivered a presentation titled “Why Conceptual Analysis Matters in Evidentiary Debates: Lessons from Gender-Motivated Crimes.”

The 3rd edition of the Handbook for Legal Theory (authors: L. Burazin, M. Krešić, I. Tucak) has been published by Naklada Breza.
The Handbook presents basic concepts suitable for describing and analyzing law using examples from Croatian legislation and case law. It illustrates, through concrete examples, various types of legal norms, subjective rights, constitutional court techniques (such as constitutional overinterpretation, conforming statutory interpretation, and balancing of principles), normative hierarchies, methods for resolving antinomies (lex posterior, lex superior, lex specialis), interpretation techniques, legal arguments (such as the ordinary meaning of words, legislative intent, a contrario, analogy, dissociation), legal construction techniques, and schemas for analyzing judicial reasoning.

The Handbook relies on analytical tools from R. Guastini’s book The Syntax of Law, Naklada Breza, 2025 (5th ed.).

The Handbook can be purchased via the publisher’s website (https://naklada-breza.hr/pravo/prirucnik-za-teoriju-prava-3-izdanje/).