Postscript to Just Relationships: Reply to Gardner, West, and Zipursky

12 Pages Posted: 20 Jun 2017

See all articles by Hanoch Dagan

Hanoch Dagan

Berkeley Law School

Avihay Dorfman

Tel Aviv University - Buchmann Faculty of Law

Date Written: June 16, 2017

Abstract

In “Just relationships” (116 Colum. L. Rev. 1395 (2016)), we developed a novel theory of private law for a liberal legal order. We argued that private law assumes the moral responsibility to determine just terms of interactions among private persons. Its most basic organizing ideas are substantive freedom and equality. Professors John Gardner, Robin West, and Benjamin Zipursky offer fascinating comments on our theory. Their rigorous engagement with our work and the penetrating insights they each develop provide an excellent opportunity for us to pose and reflect on some of the basic questions that arise in connection with the theoretical study of private law. This short response is organized around three issues: the normative status of private law, the private-law/public-law distinction, and interpretation and social criticism. It focuses on these issues because they reflect key areas of disagreement between our commentators and our account of private law. Elaborating them can help us clarify and refine our characterization and justification of private law, defined as the law governing the interactions among private persons.

Suggested Citation

Dagan, Hanoch and Dorfman, Avihay, Postscript to Just Relationships: Reply to Gardner, West, and Zipursky (June 16, 2017). Columbia Law Review (Online), Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2989276

Hanoch Dagan (Contact Author)

Berkeley Law School ( email )

890 simon hall
215 Bancroft way
berkeley, CA 94720
United States

Avihay Dorfman

Tel Aviv University - Buchmann Faculty of Law ( email )

Ramat Aviv
Tel Aviv, 69978
Israel

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