Abstract

CARACCIOLO, Ricardo. Democracy and the Duty to Obey the Law. Anal. filos. [online]. 2015, vol.35, n.1, pp.81-110. ISSN 1851-9636.

This paper attempts to examine Carlos Nino’s argument supporting the existence of a moral obligation to obey the law produced by a democratic government. This argument also goes on to show that democracy is the only morally legitimate form of government. In Nino’s conception, both issues are equivalent, and a positive response is considered necessary to determine the possibility to justify judges’ decisions. The thesis in question rests on a complex conception regarding the law’s justificatory dimension, and its connection with morality as a necessary condition. This is why the notions upon which Nino’s proposal rests are examined, above all the ideas of reason for action, justification, moral principle and legal norm. If we accept this general conception, then we should ask about the success of the argument.

Keywords : Reason for Action; Normative Justification; Morality; Democracy; Obeying the Law.

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