oath to protect that same principle. When we walk into a vot- regardless of how “wrong” we are. It doesn’t allow anyone to
ing booth to pick our representatives in Parliament, our mindset amend or falsely-interpret its intentions in the name of morality.
should be that they pass laws that we want to be enacted. Since
In hindsight, Denning should have had his work edited to
the time of the Greeks, we’ve recognized that, all too often, say: “With morality, there is no law.” If we use morality as a
we disagree on what’s right and wrong. It’s
standard in any way to judge, create or exthat disagreement that has led to our form
“The law serves as a ecute the law, then law as we know it no
of democracy today, where we (through our
legal system is designed to
unifying force, while longer exists. Our the face of ever-changing
MPs) come together to compromise on the
be immutable in
morality cannot help moral values outside the legislature. Since
best possible solutions for each generation.
A moral set of laws would be nothing more
but to split a nation our morality is constantly in flux and varthan a disguise for the opinions of a strong
ies from moment to moment, we wouldn’t
into pieces.”
minority in society.
be able to observe “moral laws” any more
The principle that law shouldn’t have
than we could try to worship both God and
anything to do with human morality is something that all law- money. It simply can’t be done and shouldn’t be done. All good
yers and law students must eventually learn, especially those lib- lawyers must do their part to keep our appropriately immoral
erals on the U.K. Supreme Court. A judge who believes a court laws in place, or we’ll be facing the chants of tomorrow saying,
can, in Ronald Dworkin’s sense, “judicially construct” a statute “let’s kill all the lawyers!”
is subverting the law by throwing their own morality at it. Many
lawyers and judges must be taught that they have no right to Alexander is a second-year LLB Law student and an aspiring acarewrite laws, as it’s simply none of their business. The law is our demic in political science. He writes on all things polemically and
business: It is what we, the people, have made in our own image, digitally inclined, and can be found on Twitter @ahkc
DICTA
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