For a philosophy of positive law alternative to legal positivism

The article discusses Francesco Viola's new book, considered as a philosophy of positive law alternative to legal positivism. The starting point is the classification of his approach as characterized by the thesis of an interpretive connection of law and morals, evident in his itinerary through the three revivals of Natural law in the last century. This kind of connection - possibly shared both by many Natural theories and positivistic positions - leads coherently to the thesis of the conceptual connection, in which justice plays an important role in the concept of law. Finally, a comment is proposed on his important distinction of epistemological, ontological and ideal approaches to the concept of law.