Summum ius, summa iniuria. An Attempt at the Analysis of the Problem Relying on the Philosophy of Law by St. Thomas Aquinas
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/TiCz.2017.034Keywords
philosophy of law, natural law, positive law, legal positivism, epikeiaAbstract
Legal positivism which is widespread in the mentality of people of legal profession leads to the situation that it is difficult to find a meaningful solution to a great number of dilemmas in which common sense suggests a different answer than the one resulting from the letter of the law. It seems that it is necessary to refer to the premises offered by philosophical reflection on the law which allows to capture the ultimate point of view for the validity of positive law/man-made law and its necessary limits resulting from its general nature.
Referring to the Latin phrase that “the highest law [is] the greatest injustice,” in this article, the question is posed why law enforcement which by definition should ensure justice may lead to injustice. Relying on St. Thomas Aquinas’ reflection on law the article indicates two main reasons why such a situation may occur: 1) the law itself may be unjust when instead of protecting human good allows action against it or even mandates it; 2) injustice may be a result of the improper use of law which because of its general nature cannot be applied in a reliable way to each individual case, which implies the necessity of being guided more by the spirit of the law than by the letter.
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