| The paradigm on the topic of the logical structure of a legal rule has experienced several transitions in Chinese academia, and the dominant theory nowadays is the so-called"New Three-Elements Doctrine". This theory has been developed in an unique sequence of thoughts with its own reasonableness. It converges with the"Two-Elements Doctrine" on the standpoint of legal concept, and keeps a relative great distance to the"Three-Elements Doctrine", but also has some consensus with the latter. However, the"New Three-Elements Doctrine" has more defects than advantages. The major problem consists of two aspects. Firstly, the three elements in a legal rule, divided according to the"New Three-Elements Doctrine", do not form a firm logical relation. And this doctrine confuses the structure of a legal rule with the structure between different legal rules. Secondly, it reduces various types of legal rules into one single type and lets it be covered by the theory of logical structure. The grounds lie in that it mistakes the real problem the theory of logical structure aims to resolve, and hence the nature of logical structure. The theory of the logical structure of a legal rule does not belong to legal conceptualism, but locates in the area of legal epistemology, which mainly deals with problems in such fields as the form of a legal rule, its static constitution and syntactic (semantic) function.There are two possible new approaches as alternatives. The first tries to make a compromise in the old framework, i.e., modifies the meanings of"hypothesis","behavioral model" and"legal effect" this way or that, then converts three elements into two elements. But this endeavor still has not avoided the spell of constructing logical structure of a legal rule with a substantial element-"conduct". The other approach, which the author terms as the"New Two-Elements Doctrine", disregards the total old framework and attempts to build new elements and new relations between them. It claims that a legal rule is consisted of two elements, namely Tatbestand and Rechtsfolge, which satisfies the basic standards of logic doctrine and overcomes most defects of old theories. What’s more, it achieves the fundamental aim of accordance with the model of legal reasoning, because the logical structure of a legal rule in view of the"New Two-Elements Doctrine" makes a subsumption smooth and appropriate, and gives a fundamental condition to correct or valid reasoning. |
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