Preface ix

Source Acknowledgments xii

Introduction 1

Part I: Legal Reasoning 5

Introduction 7

1 An Introduction to Legal Reasoning 11
Edward H. Levi

2 Remarks on the Theory of Appellate Decision and the Rules or Canons about how Statutes are to be Construed 23
Karl N. Llewellyn

3 Formalism 32
Frederick Schauer

4 Incompletely Theorized Agreements 43
Cass R. Sunstein

5 Custom, Opinio Juris, and Consent 54
Larry May

6 Lochner v. New York (1905) 70

Questions 77

Part II: Jurisprudence 79

Introduction 81

7 The Concept of Law 85
H. L. A. Hart

8 The Model of Rules I 99
Ronald Dworkin

9 Law as Justice 108
Michael S. Moore

10 The Economic Approach to Law 129
Richard A. Posner

11 The Distinction between Adjudication and Legislation 135
Duncan Kennedy

12 Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings that Formed the Movement 145
Kimberlé Crenshaw, Neil Gotanda, Gary Peller, Kendall Thomas

13 Feminist Legal Critics: The Reluctant Radicals 152
Patricia Smith

14 Riggs v. Palmer (1889) 164

Questions 170

Part III: International Law 171

Introduction 173

15 International Law 175
H. L. A. Hart

16 The Nature of Jus Cogens 184
Mark W. Janis

17 A Philosophy of International Law 187
Fernando R. Tesón

18 The Limits of International Law 200
Jack L. Goldsmith and Eric A. Posner

19 The Internal Legitimacy of Humanitarian Intervention 209
Allen Buchanan

20 Humanitarian Intervention: Problems of Collective Responsibility 221
Larry May

21 Humanitarian Intervention: Some Doubts 233
Burleigh Wilkins

22 Prosecutor v. Tadić (1995) 240

Questions 244

Part IV: Property 245

Introduction 247

23 Of Property 251
John Locke

24 Locke’s Theory of Acquisition 258
Robert Nozick

25 Property, Title, and Redistribution 263
A. M. Honoré

26 Philosophical Implications 269
Richard A. Epstein

27 The Social Structure of Japanese Intellectual Property Law 281
Dan Rosen and Chikako Usui

28 Historical Rights and Fair Shares 286
A. John Simmons

29 International News Service v. Associated Press (1918) 291

Questions 299

Part V: Torts 301

Introduction 303

30 Causation and Responsibility 307
H. L. A. Hart and A. M. Honoré

31 Sua Culpa 315
Joel Feinberg

32 Fairness and Utility in Tort Theory 322
George P. Fletcher

33 Tort Liability and the Limits of Corrective Justice 330
Jules L. Coleman

34 A Theory of Strict Liability 338
Richard A. Epstein

35 The Question of a Duty to Rescue in Canadian Tort Law: An Answer From France 348
Mitchell McInnes

36 Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California (1976) 356

Questions 362

Part VI: Criminal Law 363

Introduction 365

37 On Liberty 369
John Stuart Mill

38 The Enforcement of Morals 377
Patrick Devlin

39 Crime and Punishment: An Indigenous African Experience 384
Egbeke Aja

40 The Mind and the Deed 392
Anthony Kenny

41 Between Impunity and Show Trials 402
Martti Koskenniemi

42 Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law 411
Mark Drumbl

43 Defending International Criminal Trials 423
Larry May

44 Opening Statement before the International Military Tribunal (1945) 435
Justice Robert H. Jackson

Questions 441

Part VII: Contracts 443

Introduction 445

45 Of the First and Second Natural Laws, and of Contracts 449
Thomas Hobbes

46 The Practice of Promising 455
P. S. Atiyah

47 Contract as Promise 465
Charles Fried

48 Legally Enforceable Commitments 479
Michael D. Bayles

49 Unconscionability and Contracts 487
Alan Wertheimer

50 South African Contract Law: The Need for a Concept of Unconscionability 500
Lynn Berat

51 Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co. (1965) 511

Questions 515

Part VIII: Constitutional Law 517

Introduction 519

52 Constitutional Cases 523
Ronald Dworkin

53 Does the Constitution Mean What It Always Meant? 535
Stephen R. Munzer and James W. Nickel

54 What’s Wrong with Chinese Rights? Toward a Theory of Rights with Chinese Characteristics 548
R. P. Peerenboom

55 Poverty and Constitutional Justice: The Indian Experience 569
Jeremy Cooper

56 Natural Law: Alive and Kicking? A Look at the Constitutional Morality of Sexual Privacy in Ireland 585
Rory O’Connell

57 Peremptory Norms as International Public Order 602
Alexander Orakhelashvili

58 The Gender of Jus Cogens 610
Hilary Charlesworth and Christine Chinkin

59 Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) 620

Questions 626

The text includes seminal essays from the history of philosophy, including works from Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, John Austin, Jeremy Bentham, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, and others. In addition, many contemporary theorists are included, such as H. L. A. Hart, Ronald Dworkin, Robert Nozick, Richard Posner, Richard Epstein, A. M. Honoré, and Michael Moore, as well as diverse voices from feminism, critical theory, postmodernism, and critical race theory.

By bringing together these different and distinct voices into dialogue, the volume fully represents the philosophical foundations of various areas of law. By exposing students to a wide range of theoretical views, this book challenges students to think critically about law in the US and elsewhere, and between nations.

"This judiciously edited textbook will be the obvious choice for those who want to combine readings from classics of analytic jurisprudence, provocative case law, and diverse international and critical perspectives."
–Christopher F. Zurn, University of Kentucky

An anthology for the 21st century. It not only includes a section on international law, but integrates non-U.S. law into the study of other aspects of the law.
–Eugene Garver, Saint John’s University