Law’s sources: by Neil Duxbury, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2025, 154 pp., £80 (hardback), ISBN 9780198981152

Citation

Houghton A (2026) Law’s sources: by Neil Duxbury, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2025, 154 pp., £80 (hardback), ISBN 9780198981152. Jurisprudence. https://doi.org/10.1080/20403313.2026.2691465

Abstract
First paragraph: In Law’s Sources Neil Duxbury embarks upon an ambitious examination of the relationship between law and its sources, and the role of these (mostly secondary) sources in legal reasoning. If you are in the business of law – be it judging or being judged – you will find the latter project insightful and the conclusions plausible. The former project, however, will be somewhat disappointing for those engaged in the philosophy of law. The main philosophical moves are brisk and the conclusions in need of more motivation. Duxbury himself refers to these claims as mere ‘meditations’ on the sources of law, and it is perhaps best to read the book in the light and not to expect a fully developed account.Footnote1 I will focus on these mediations and leave the more pragmatic value of the book to the lawyers.

Journal
Jurisprudence