Question:easy

Assertion (A): Austin's concept of law is known as imperative theory.
Reason (R): Austin emphasized on the commanding character of law.

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Austin defined law as the command of a sovereign backed by a sanction. The word imperative comes from the Latin for command, so check whether the reason is the source of the name.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
  • Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A
  • Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A
  • A is true but R is false
  • A is false but R is true
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The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Start with the word itself. "Imperative" traces back to the Latin imperare, to command. A theory earns that name only if commands sit at its core. Austin's does, which is why the two statements here lock together.

  1. Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A: Correct. The label in the assertion and the feature in the reason are the same point stated twice, once as a name and once as a description.
  2. Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A: Wrong. The reason is not incidental. It is the reason the theory carries that name.
  3. A is true but R is false: Wrong. Austin built his entire definition on the sovereign's command.
  4. A is false but R is true: Wrong. Every jurisprudence text calls Austin's theory the imperative or command theory.

Austin's definition runs like this: law is a command issued by a sovereign, imposing a duty, and backed by a sanction. Take any one of those pieces away and, on his view, you do not have law properly so called. That is why he refused to treat international law as real law, since no sovereign stands above nations to command them, and why he was uneasy about custom until a sovereign adopted it.

The theory drew heavy criticism later. Salmond pointed out that law is more about justice than about mere orders. Hart replied that Austin's model of orders backed by threats resembles a gunman writ large and cannot explain rules that confer powers, such as the rules for making a will or a contract. Those criticisms do not touch this question, though. They attack the theory; they do not deny that it is a command based theory.

Let's summarize:

  • Austin: law is the command of the sovereign backed by a sanction.
  • Command at the centre gives the theory its imperative name.
  • The reason therefore explains the assertion directly.

So both statements are true and the reason explains the assertion. Option (A) is the answer.

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