Concept, Principle, and Norm—equality Before the Law Reconsidered

Bibliographic Data

ID23237336
AuthorsFrej Klem Thomsen (0000-0001-9626-5115, Roskilde University, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume24
Issue2
Pages103-134
Publication date2018-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLegal Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1352-3252 • E-ISSN: 1469-8048
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1352325218000071
OpenAlexW2809125878
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited25

Despite the attention equality before the law has received, both laudatory and critical, peculiarly little has been done to precisely define it. The first ambition of this paper is to remedy this, by exploring the various ways in which a principle of equality before the law can be understood and suggest a concise definition. With a clearer understanding of the principle in hand we are better equipped to assess traditional critique of the principle. Doing so is the second ambition of this paper. I will argue that traditional criticisms are unpersuasive, but that there is a different, powerful argument against equality before the law. The third ambition of the paper is to argue that there is a sense, overlooked by both proponents and critics, in which the principle still captures something important, albeit at the cost of shifting from intrinsic to instrumental value.

Law and economics · Mathematical economics · Norm (philosophy) · Political science · Sociology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Mathematics · Political Philosophy and Ethics

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