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THE INTELLIGIBILITY OF EXTRALEGAL STATE ACTION: A General Lesson for Debates on Public Emergencies and Legality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

François Tanguay-Renaud
François Tanguay-Renaud*
Affiliation:
Osgoode Hall Law School, York [email protected]
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Abstract

Some legal theorists deny that states can conceivably act extralegally in the sense of acting contrary to domestic law. This position finds its most robust articulation in the writings of Hans Kelsen and has more recently been taken up by David Dyzenhaus in the context of his work on emergencies and legality. This paper seeks to demystify their arguments and ultimately contend that we can intelligibly speak of the state as a legal wrongdoer or a legally unauthorized actor.

Type
Research Article
Information
Legal Theory , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , September 2010 , pp. 161 - 189
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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