The Military Court in Nuremberg and the birth of postpositivism

Abstract

The present work aims to understand elements of Post Positivism based on an extensive comprehension of some of analytic schools of Law, using as guiding thread the International Military Tribunal (1945/1946) which judged the crimes committed during World War II. This event brought to light some profound problems in relation to the prevailing analytic school of law at the time, the Classic Positivism, which caused the rethink by studiers it in order to overcome them. As so, can be identify two milestones that summarize the problematic of classic Positivism, both occurring in the Military Court: the Ad Hoc nature of this Court; and the question under the strict rule of law, to blindly serve the will of the law. From the answers of those problems, the improved solutions helped to shape Post-Positivism.