An unjust law is no law at all () is an expression in support of

natural law Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...

, acknowledging that authority is not legitimate unless it is good and right. It has become a standard

legal maxim A legal maxim is an established principle or proposition of law, and a species of aphorism and general maxim (philosophy), maxim. The word is apparently a variant of the Latin , but this latter word is not found in extant texts of Roman law with ...

around the world. This view is strongly associated with

theorists, including John Finnis and Lon Fuller.

History

Throughout history, philosophical and religious writers have often objected to unjust laws. For example, in Isaiah 10: In the fourth century AD,

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

said "for I think a law that is not just, is not actually a law" ("''nam mihi lex esse non videtur, quae justa non fuerit''"). He wrote this when discussing why evil exists; his conclusion was that it is ultimately a problem caused by people departing from good or just behavior.

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

exhaustively examines the legitimacy of man-made laws and whether they should be obeyed, in

Summa Theologica The ''Summa Theologiae'' or ''Summa Theologica'' (), often referred to simply as the ''Summa'', is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all of the main t ...

. He asks "do man-made laws have to be obeyed?" His answer is no; a law only need to be obeyed if it is legitimate in three ways: # The Purpose: The law must be for the common good. # The Author: It must be in the scope of the authority making the law. # The Form: And its burden should be equal and apply to all. Aquinas says that the disobedience should not itself cause harm or lead people into evil. He refers to

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

establishing that it is always lawful to avoid oppression. In ''

Civil Disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

'',

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon sim ...

also called into question the legitimacy of any law that was unjust. He says:

Martin Luther King Jr Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

, in

Letter from Birmingham Jail The "Letter from Birmingham Jail", also known as the "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" and "The Negro Is Your Brother", is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr. It says that people have a moral responsibility to b ...

, referred to both Augustine and Aquinas, saying that

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...

were unjust and should be eschewed, in establishing his rationale for the goodness of

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

India

Indian philosophy Indian philosophy consists of philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. The philosophies are often called darśana meaning, "to see" or "looking at." Ānvīkṣikī means “critical inquiry” or “investigation." Unlike darśan ...

, the idea that a rule is not a "true law" unless it is based on the idea of

Ṛta In the Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religion, ''Ṛta'' (International Phonetic Alphabet, /ɹ̩t̪ɐ/; Sanskrit ' "order, rhythm, rule; truth; logos") is the principle of natural order which regulates and coordinates the operation of the un ...

, a possible cognate for "right" in English. This natural law foundation establishes rules for what is a "law" or "truth", a form of order so high that even the gods themselves must obey or be in the wrong. They do not govern Ṛta, but manifest it through their ordinances and retributions, their rewards and punishments. They don't "govern" it; they serve it as agents and ministers.Day (1982:29–30).

References

Sources

*
Law and Morality
', Edited by Kenneth Einar Himma, Seattle Pacific University, U.S. and Brian Bix, University of Minnesota, U.S. *
Philosophical theory and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
', William Sweet (ed.). Latin legal terminology Legal terminology

History

India

See also

References

Sources