The Morality of Obeying the Law

(Hardback)

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This book suggests a new direction for the old and lately vigorous debate about whether there is a moral obligation to obey the law. It argues that the imposition of unnecessary conditions has misdirected the search for such an obligation. These conditions matter they favour some arguments over others and they ought not to be accepted without adequate justification. The book starts by asking what must be established by an argument for a moral obligation to obey the law. It asks what follows from a moral obligation to obey the law being a moral obligation. It then asks what follows from a moral obligation to obey the law being a species of political obligation. Finally, it asks what follows from a moral obligation to obey the law being an obligation to obey. Having identified the conditions to be satisfied, the book considers three arguments. Two of these arguments the argument from consent and the argument from the natural duty of justice are more promising than is often thought. The third the argument from membership is doubted.

Author Bio

Kevin Walton is Lecturer in the Sydney Law School and Director of the Julius Stone Institute of Jurisprudence at the University of Sydney, Australia.