There really are no legal rules. Appeals to rules are mere rationalizations of the decisions of judges made on extra-legal grounds. The discipline of law consists simply in predicting what judges will do. Natural Law Theory Positive law can be properly understood only by analyzing it as the concrete realization of the abstract principles and functions of natural law.
Human beings are by nature political animals.
Certain forms of social organization are essential to human existence. These essential forms constitute the natural law. Three Versions of NLT Natural law is grounded in human nature, understood biologically. However, natural law has no binding force in and of itself until it is enacted into positive law. Strong or Maximal NLT Positive law has no validity when in conflict with natural law, but the natural law can in some cases be valid and binding in the absence of positive law.