This study examines academic doctrine, asking whether it exists as a community, through an exploration of tax law. Initially, the approach leads us to consider it as a scientific community, noting its rather modest historical heritage, compared to other areas of law, and analysing it from an organic and functional perspective.
Secondly, it is considered as a community of thought, which leads to a discussion of its fragmentation, the competition it faces and the threats to it. The study concludes that academic doctrine exists and sets out the criteria for belonging to it. This criterion is general but fundamental: freedom. This suggests that this community is not limited to a select group of professors, but extends to the doctoral students they train who, sharing this vision, continue to gravitate towards the university.