Full Description
The rule of law is widely perceived to be a public law doctrine, concerned with the way in which governmental authority conforms to the dictates of law. The goal of this book is to challenge this presumption. The chapters in this volume all consider the idea that the rule of law concerns the nature of law generally and the conditions under which any relationship - that among citizens as well as that between citizens and the state - becomes subject to law. Addressing two major questions, they ask if our understanding of the rule of law is enriched by considering how and to what degree it is expressed or realized in private law, and whether our understanding of the private law is enriched by adding the principles of the rule of law to the traditional list of core private law concepts. Bringing together leading philosophers of private and public law, this volume examines key questions in a little-explored field, and will be essential reading for all those interested in the rule of law and in private law theory.
Contents
Introduction ; PART 1: THE PRIVATE LAW CONTRIBUTION TO THE RULE OF LAW ; 1. Fidelity in Law's Commonwealth ; 2. The Rule of Law and Private Law ; 3. The Rule of Law as the Rule of Private Law ; 4. Liberty and Legal Form ; 5. Unseating Unilateralism ; 6. Torts and the Rule of Law ; 7. Private Law Pluralism and the Rule of Law ; PART II: THE RULE OF LAW CONTRIBUTION TO PRIVATE LAW ; 8. Strict Duties and the Rule of Law ; 9. Some Rule-of-Law Anxieties about Strict Liability in Private Law ; 10. Property, Equity, and the Rule of Law ; 11. Equity and the Rule of Law ; 12. The Power of the Rule of Law ; 13. Boilerplate: A Threat to the Rule of Law? ; 14. The Rule of Law and Time's Arrow
