RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Rule of Law and Political Representation
A1 Bello Hutt, Donald
AB How do the rule of law and political representation relate to each other? I answer this question, hitherto neglected by rule-of-law scholars, taking my cue from Joseph Raz’s revision of his conception of the rule of law and by relying on a distinction between preferences and interests, which pervades discussions of political representation. I argue that political representatives’ attention to their constituents’ preferences, and not just their interests, is a necessary feature of a conception of representation that expresses a robust allegiance to the rule of law. More specifically, that such allegiance is better honoured when representatives are responsive to preferences warranted by public interests. I offer two groups of rule-of-law reasons for that claim. First, because respect for preferences by representatives facilitates the conditions for the law to be obeyed. Second, respect for those preferences through the justification of the representatives’ collective decisions allows for accountability and for non-arbitrary creation and application of the law. I finish addressing a threefold objection to my reliance on preferences as objects that representatives should consider when making their decisions.
PB Springer
SN 1876-4045
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/83022
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/83022
LA spa
NO The Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, noviembre 2021, vol. 14, 1-25
NO Producción Científica
DS UVaDOC
RD 23-mar-2026