Law, Ethics and the Biopolitical explores the idea that legal authority is no longer related to national sovereignty, but to the 'moral' attempt to nurture life. The book argues that whilst the relationship between law and ethics has long been a central concern in legal studies, it is now the relationship between law and life that is becoming crucial. The waning legitimacy of conventional conceptions of sovereignty is signalled the renewal of a version of natural law, evident in discourses of (...) human rights, that de-emphasises the role of a divine law-giver in favour of an Aristotelian conception of the natural purpose of life and the 'common good'. Synthesising elements of legal scholarship on sovereignty, theories of biopolitics and biopower, as well as recent developments in the domains of ethics, Amy Swiffen examines the invocation of 'life' as a foundation for legal authority. The book documents the connection between law, life and contemporary forms of biopolitical power by critically analysing the fundamental principles of the bioethical paradigm. Unique in its critical and cross-disciplinary approach, Law, Ethics and the Biopolitical will be of interest to students and teachers in the areas of law and society, law and literature, critical legal studies, social theory, bioethics, psychoanalysis, and biopolitics."--P. [iv] of cover. (shrink)

This collection of essays explores 'the end' in various contexts, including art, politics, and the philosophy of time and existence. In different ways, all of the essays address emerging horizons of meaning and reality.

This paper investigates the state of the law in Canada in regards to a public health emergency, and in particular the jurisdictional logic that might come into effect were a public health emergency to occur. Although there has yet to be a national public health emergency in Canada, threats of such crises are likely to arise in the future. It is therefore recognised as necessary to address Canada’s legal preparedness for a public health emergency and evaluate proposed reforms to the (...) legal structure that could facilitate response. This paper contributes to this goal by identifying multiple jurisdictional factors that could inform legal interpretations in a public health emergency. It considers how the legal system and the courts are dealing with public health as a national security issue while taking into account s. 7 of the Canadian Charter. It also looks at the power of the government defined in the Emergencies Act [1985, c. 22] and a proposed legal reform that would make it easier for the government to act unilaterally in a public health emergency. The paper draws on the legal theory of Robert Cover to analyse the hermeneutics of jurisdiction that characterise legal interpretations of public health in Canada, as well as the relationship between jurisdiction and legal violence that these hermeneutics imply. It then develops a case study of the use of medical triage in a public health emergency to explore the possibility of holding the state liable under private law for harm caused to individuals by public health decisions. The paper concludes by suggesting that the state’s public health power can be conceptualised as a form of legal violence and that the courts in Canada should adopt a jurisgenerative approach to legal interpretation in the area of public health. (shrink)