The Dignity of Legal Subjects†

Aziz Z Huq

Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 2024, vol. 44, issue 2, 461-481

Abstract: The dignitary account of the rule of law proposes that values of human dignity and agency are appropriately recognised through legal rules and institutions that create opportunities for legal subjects to engage in deliberation and the exercise of practical reason. In a collection of essays published over a period of almost two decades, Thoughtfulness and the Rule of Law, Jeremy Waldron offers a comprehensive account of the grounds and institutional implications of taking dignity so understood as a core rule-of-law desideratum. The ensuing account is novel, stimulating and distinct. There is, however, a chasm between the platforms identified by Waldron and his ambition of advancing dignity. Further, a dignity norm cannot supply a plausible evaluative benchmark under all (or most) plausible circumstances. Its domain might in consequence be more circumscribed than Waldron intimates.

Keywords: rule of law; dignity; due process; standards (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ojls/gqae004 (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:oxjlsj:v:44:y:2024:i:2:p:461-481.

Access Statistics for this article

Oxford Journal of Legal Studies is currently edited by Liz Fisher, Stefan Enchelmaier, Andreas Televantos, Liora Lazarus and Jennifer Payne

More articles in Oxford Journal of Legal Studies from Oxford University Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().