David J. Luban’s legal ethics: moral evaluations of acts, subjectivity, responsibility Cover Image

Etyka prawnicza Davida J. Lubana: moralna ocena czynów, podmiotowość, odpowiedzialność
David J. Luban’s legal ethics: moral evaluations of acts, subjectivity, responsibility

Author(s): Przemysław Kaczmarek
Subject(s): Ethics / Practical Philosophy, Philosophy of Law, Philosophy of Law
Published by: Stowarzyszenie Filozofii Prawa i Filozofii Społecznej – Sekcja Polska IVR
Keywords: legal culture; legal ethics; professional role; subjectivity/structure; moral responsibility;

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to present the theory of legal ethics by David J. Luban. The reading of this American philosopher’s project I would like to propose focuses around the three pillars mentioned in the title: the moral evaluation of acts, subjectivity, and moral responsibility. Luban’s theory postulates maintaining the autonomy of an individual performing a lawyer’s role in relation to the institutional structure. Therefore, a lawyer’s activity should be characterised by anxiety and questions ‘what should I do?’ The main axis of Luban’s project is criticism of the standard view supporting the principle that institutional morality is independent of social or individual morality. The principle of neutrality assumes that the morality of a professional role should be limited to the institutional dimension. Such an approach is supposed to prevent (especially in case of an attorney) any individual assessments of the client’s behaviour, or – in a broader sense – performing the professional role at one’s own discretion.

  • Issue Year: 16/2018
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 21-33
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Polish