On the moral duty to obey the law

Abstract

The debate on the existence of a moral duty to obey the law begins with Plato's famous dialogue, Crito, and continues to the present day.  For  instance,  we  could  ask  ourselves  whether  failing  to comply with one of the many measures established to fight against the  covid-19  pandemic  is  always  morally  reprehensible,  even  in those  cases  in  which  disobedience  would  not  have  a  direct negative  impact  on  public  health.  This  essay  studies  the  content and  nature  of  this  hypothetical  duty  (sometimes  defined  as  the "political  obligation")  through  the  analysis  of  the  work  of  ten authors, with special attention to those of the 20th century: Hart, Rawls, Finnis and Dworkin.