In the year 2061

In the year 2061—just 100 years after the publication of HLA Hart’s The Concept of Law ¹ —I imagine that few, if any, hard copies of that landmark book will be in circulation. The digitisation of texts has already transformed the way that many people read; and, as the older generation of hard copy book lovers dies, there is a real possibility that their reading (and text-related) preferences will pass away with them. ² Still, even if the way in which The Concept of Law is read is different, should we at least assume that Hart’s text will remain an essential part of any legal education? Perhaps we should; perhaps the book will still be required reading. However, my guess is that the jurists and legal educators of 2061 will view Hart’s analysis as being of limited interest; the world will have moved on; and, just as Hart rejects the Austinian command model of law as a poor representation of twentieth-century legal systems, so history will repeat itself. In 2061, I suggest that Hart’s rule model will seem badly out of touch with the use of modern technologies as regulatory instruments and, in particular, with the pervasive use of ‘technological management’ in place of what Hart terms the ‘primary’ rules (namely, duty-imposing rules that are directed at the conduct of citizens). ³