Most states claim to have legitimate authority. That is, most states claim that their rule is justified and that those subjects to this rule consequently have a corresponding duty to obey. In this regard, states are different from, for example, bands of bandits that issue commands to their victims while acknowledging that these commands are backed by nothing but brute force.
In this seminar, we will study what legitimate authority is, under what conditions states have it, how law participates to legitimate authority, and how philosophical issues about legitimate authority are represented in positive law. The aim is to give participants a grasp on the philosophical debate on legitimate state authority and to allow them to use this knowledge within their practice as jurists.
Hugo LAFRENIERE
Séminaire
English
There are no prerequisites for this course. However, students should be aware that a large part of the readings are philosophical in nature. Although no previous knowledge of philosophy is expected, students should therefore possess a general interest in discussing abstract philosophical issues.
Spring 2022-2023
Evaluation will be divided in three: 25%, in-class participation and oral presentation (students will be asked to
present the readings for a given meeting); 25%, comment paper (1,000 words on the readings for a given
meeting); 50%, final essay (5,000 words on a subject discussed during the course).
Joseph Raz, The Morality of Freedom (Oxford, UK; Oxford University Press, 1986).