The doctrine of imputation is at the centre of Gottfried Achenwall’s theory of natural law. Together with obligation (obligatio), imputation (imputatio) is, according to Achenwall, one of the two basic forces of a law. In contrast to Samuel von Pufendorf, he claims that imputation requires a binding law. This article shows how Achenwall’s doctrine of imputation forms the link between law and free action and finds its form of implementation in the rulings of the courts. Imputation shows in praxi how ‘Is’ and ‘Ought’ are connected in an evaluative judgement, and in this way makes it possible to evaluate a free action in the light of a moral or legal law.
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