Legal principles in contemporary Brazilian law

Determining what legal principles are is an arduous task. The peculiar imprecision of signs the ambiguity of language and the decoding of this legal term which is not always carried out with scientific criteria are the first obstacles that must be overcome in this endeavor. For the natural law school principles are values derived from human reason. Positivism basically presents two conceptions of principles: the first does not address the issue since the legal system is considered complete self-sufficient and value-free. The second conception of the positivist school recognizes principles as rules of supplementation which can never oppose the law intended to fill gaps in the legal system. Post-positivist thinking accepts principles as values that are positivized in the system true norms that can solve specific cases provided they are applied with an appropriate methodology. In addition to norms applicable to the greatest extent possible principles are considered core commandments of the legal system which structure this system giving it unity and also acting as vectors for the interpretation of legal rules.