Table of Contents
Do we have an obligation to obey unjust laws?
An unjust law is a law that is very removed from the primary meaning and is therefore deficient, deformed, or defective in some respect. We have no duty to obey intrinsically unjust laws but we usually do have a duty to obey extrinsically unjust laws.
Why do unjust laws summon us to civil disobedience?
Therefore if a government makes unjust laws, it loses the right of being obeyed by citizens. And when the citizens have tried in vain to change such bad laws through democratic channels, they are justified to take to civil disobedience. In fact, they will be unjustified to continue to obey.
Is civil disobedience always justified?
Civil disobedience is always justified by the people participating in the disobeying for the simple reason that they will always believe in what they are doing. However, from an outside perspective, the justifications are analyzed through the values of the individual, organization or government.
Are we obligated to follow the law?
The moral obligation to obey the law, or as it is generally called, political obligation, is a moral requirement to obey the laws of one’s country. All legal systems claim to bind people subject to them; part of what we mean by a valid law is that the relevant population is required to obey it.
What are some examples of unjust laws in the United States today?
Money Bail.
What is an example of an unjust law?
Unjust laws in these systems are those laws that treat some people unfairly, often due to prejudices that were rampant when the law was made. Examples of laws considered unjust in many areas might include those relating to keeping slaves or those that treat women differently than men.
Under what conditions is civil disobedience justified?
We are justified in disobeying unjust laws only when their injustice reflects a betrayal of the principles governing fair and equal social cooperation.
What does legally obligated mean?
A generic term for any type of legal duty or liability. Currently obligation is used in reference to anything that an individual is required to do because of a promise, vow, oath, contract, or law. It refers to a legal or moral duty that an individual can be forced to perform or penalized for neglecting to perform.
When can you say that the obligation is legal?
An obligation is a legal bond (vinculum iuris) by which one or more parties (obligants) are bound to act or refrain from acting. An obligation thus imposes on the obligor a duty to perform, and simultaneously creates a corresponding right to demand performance by the obligee to whom performance is to be tendered.
What did Socrates say about unjust laws?
An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law… Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.