42 - Bentham Redux

Summary

In this chapter I examine claims that the idea of ‘access to law’ should be accepted as a human right. I identify law’s pervasive presence in people’s lives, and argue that a person’s ability to comply with law’s direction, and to make use of law’s facilitative function, depends on their knowing and understanding the law. This, I argue, is a matter of human dignity, and calls for recognition of a wholly new right of access to law. I consider what the normative content of such a right might be, looking at how a state would meet obligations to ensure that law can be found, understood and readily complied with or used. I note, too, the risk of ‘rights inflation’, but argue for the genuine novelty of the proposed right. Alternatively, I consider how a right of access to law could be derived as an auxiliary right that is necessary for ensuring enjoyment of a range of substantive human rights, but I note that the resulting coverage is less than that of a stand-alone human right.