POLITICS 209 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: World Justice Project, Sociality, Natural And Legal Rights

• School: University of Auckland
• Department: Politics and International Relations
• Course: POLITICS 209
• Professor: Stephen Winter

Document Summary

Agenda: law and authority, natural law, rights [their pre-social character, rights and authority], natural and political approaches to human rights. The first condition of free government is government not by the arbitrary determination of the ruler, but by fixed rules of law, to which the rule himself is subject. There is no essential antithesis between liberty and law. On the contrary, law is essential to liberty. (hobhouse) According to world justice project organisation; rule of law is a framework of laws and institutions that embody four universal principles: Accountability [government as well as private actors are accountable under the law. ] Having rule-governed authorities helps them function in ways that are more legitimate and gives us reason to, perhaps, follow directives from those authorities. Being governed by the rule of law helps authorities do the sorts of things serve the reasons that their subjects have reason for them to serve.