Action-based jurisprudence

Action-based jurisprudence
- Highlight Loc. 688-97  | Added on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, 04:03 PM

Does such legal restriction on Edward’s scope of action make his property right in his motorcycle “limited”? Mis- or over-applied metaphors can lead to clouded thinking and the popular concept of “limitations on rights” is an example. Part of the confusion stems from the notion of “rights” as it is used in constitutional-law reasoning that accepts the notion that rights are delimited spheres of action that the state allows to its subjects. The state may restrict or withdraw such “rights” at its “supreme” (as in, for example, “supreme court”) discretion.31 In contrast, a renewed focus on distinguishing rights from actions supports clearer reasoning about important legal issues. In this approach, the sphere of legitimate action relates to what is done, while rights address which resources and locations each person has the legitimate authority to make decisions about. Such rights can, indeed, be “absolute.” It is only actions that the requirements of justice limit.