Affirmation of Gustav Radbruch’s Teachings on Law and Justice as a Cultural Products of Society (Philosophical Perspective)

Gustav Radbruch’s thought was profoundly influenced by various Neo-Kantian movements that flourished in Germany between 1900 and 1925, movements that sought to transcend the irreconcilable antitheses found within the teachings of Immanuel Kant. This paper aims to address the question of whether the construction of Gustav Radbruch’s legal theory is rooted in Immanuel Kant’s doctrine of the categorical imperative. The analysis concludes that Radbruch, as a Neo-Kantian, emphasized justice as the fundamental concept of law, positing that the essence of justice lies in equality among human beings.. Consequently, law can be understood as a set of rules aimed at realizing justice and legal certainty for the benefit of society. While justice as a legal ideal is universal, its manifestation in regulations and law enforcement must be contextual, as it requires consideration of the specific time and place in which the law is enacted and applied.These differing values influence societal culture, which in turn impacts the laws established by that society. Ultimately, this article concludes that, for Gustav Radbruch, culture constituted the patterns of behavior that serve as the source in the law formation within a society.