Analysis Of Lon Fuller s Inner Morality - 1616 Words

Lon Fuller is known for what he calls the â€Å"internal morality† of law. In â€Å"Eight Ways to Fail to Make Law,† Fuller sets out eight standards that he claims compose â€Å"inner morality† and must be present in order for a legal system to exist. First of Fuller’s standards, there must be rules. These rules create a precedent. Second, these rules must be made public. If these laws are secret, then they cannot guide behavior. Thus, non-publicized laws cannot be laws in Fuller’s sense of the term. Third, laws must be prospective rather than retroactive—why make a law today that affects some vague point in the future? They cannot be meaningful if they cannot guide future action. Fourth, laws must be clear and concise rather than unintelligible. Fifth, laws must not be contradictory. Noncompliance with the last two standards would be similar to having secret laws. If no one understands them or knows what they say, they cannot be laws. Sixth, laws must not have requirements that are practically impossible—draconian requirements. Again, if it cannot guide action, it is not law. Seventh, laws should not be constantly amended. Eighth and finally, laws must be congruent in the way they are announced and the way they are administered. Without these last two standards, there might as well be no set law. Fuller refers to these eight standards as to as the principles of legal construction, and they compose the â€Å"internal morality of law.† If anything fails these principles, it is not moral andShow MoreRelatedThe Morality Of Law, By Lon L. Fuller Essay2095 Words   |  9 Pagesarticulated in a number of the jurisprudence works of the mid-twentieth American legal philosopher, Lon L. Fuller. The Morality of Law, for instance, provides a valuable snapshot of Fuller’s preliminary sense of what his idea on human dignity might entail. In the core of his argument of legal morality, Fuller proposes that any neg lect of eight principles of legality, which constitutes the internal morality of law, is not just only render the rational ground to obey the law and destroy the trusteeship