اخلاقي بودن وظيفه اطاعت از قانون

MORALITY OF THE DUTY OF OBEDIENCE TO LAW

"Whether a duty of obedience to law is a moral duty as well" is one of the crucial questions in the field of Philosophy of Law. In this regard three answers are supposed: 1 - Obedience to law is not a moral duly; 2- Obedience to law is an absolute moral duty; 3- Obedience to law is a prima facie moral duty. Many of law philosophers (particularly some of the adherents to positivism e.g. Astin) attribute obedience to law to the fear of the sanctions and consider the law and ethics as pertaining to two separate fields. They simply believe that a moral duly to obey a norm cannot be inferred form its legality, as a legal duty to obey a norm, is not inferred form its morality. Some other philosophers including Kant, relying on the benefits of order, believe that, according to the imperatives of practical logic, in necessity of departure from natural status towards the constitution of a civil society, obedience to law is an absolute mora! duty, and even if an immoral law is enacted by an evil and oppressive system, it must be obeyed. Another group, giving diverse explanations and reasoning, consider the obedience to law as a prima facie moral duty that may be disregarded if outweighed or balanced by other moral reasons. The latter opinion has attracted more adherents and is considered a moderate opinion. In this regard, the author is of the opinion that the criterion for morality of a social conduct is a social one. Such criterion is determined and confirmed by the society to which the individual, or more accurately, the "person" belongs. Induction m social criteria reveals thai, m most democratic societies, they confirm a prima facie moral duly of obedience to law. Such induction is of course, imperfect and does not amount to a general rule. Practically, m most non-democratic societies, it is not the case. It appears that in non-democralic countries, most of the people, only after an examination of content, feel a moral obligation to obey the law; and unless the law is reiteration of a moral duly, only reasons of either utilitarian or prudential character urge them to obey.