Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T23:53:20.937Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

42 - Bentham Redux

Examining a Right of Access to Law

from The Right of Access to Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2020

Andreas von Arnauld
Affiliation:
Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Germany
Kerstin von der Decken
Affiliation:
Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Germany
Mart Susi
Affiliation:
Tallinn University, Estonia
Get access

Summary

In this chapter I examine claims that the idea of ‘access to law’ should be accepted as a human right. I identify law’s pervasive presence in people’s lives, and argue that a person’s ability to comply with law’s direction, and to make use of law’s facilitative function, depends on their knowing and understanding the law. This, I argue, is a matter of human dignity, and calls for recognition of a wholly new right of access to law. I consider what the normative content of such a right might be, looking at how a state would meet obligations to ensure that law can be found, understood and readily complied with or used. I note, too, the risk of ‘rights inflation’, but argue for the genuine novelty of the proposed right. Alternatively, I consider how a right of access to law could be derived as an auxiliary right that is necessary for ensuring enjoyment of a range of substantive human rights, but I note that the resulting coverage is less than that of a stand-alone human right.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of New Human Rights
Recognition, Novelty, Rhetoric
, pp. 541 - 554
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×