Why Law Matters: A Workshop With Alon Harel

May 16th 2014, IAS Seminar Room, Milburn House, Warwick University
11am – 5:30pm. Lunch will be provided.

This workshop will discuss Alon Harel’s book Why Law Matters (OUP, 2014). In that book Harel defends the idea that political and legal institutions and legal procedures are intrinsically value – that is, their value does not depend only on their ability to secure a range of valuable outcomes that can be identified independently of features of those political and legal institutions themselves. He advances this argument in several ways. For example, he examines the nature of rights themselves, as well as considering the significance of the fact that public institutions punish offenders, that there are constitutional protection of rights, protected by judicial review, and that there are absolute legal principles protecting fundamental rights against being killed.

The workshop will involve four sessions. Each session will begin with a presentation on an aspect of the book, with a response by Alon, followed by open discussion. Presentations will be delivered by John Gardner (Oxford), Les Green (Oxford), Laura Valentini (LSE), and Adam Slavny (Warwick). The workshop is organised by Victor Tadros.