Consent in the Law

Author: Deryck Beyleveld; Roger Brownsword
Publisher: Hart Publishing
ISBN: 9781841136790
Published In: February 2007
Format: Hardback , 406 pages
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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In a community that takes rights seriously, consent features pervasively in both moral and legal discourse as a justifying reason: stated simply, where there is consent, there can be no complaint. However, without a clear appreciation of the nature of a consent-based justification, its integrity, both in principle and in practice, is liable to be compromised.

This book examines the role of consent as a procedural justification, discussing the prerequisites for an adequate consent -- in particular, that an agent with the relevant capacity has made an unforced and informed choice, that the consent has been clearly signalled, and that the scope of the authorisation covers the act in question. It goes on to highlight both the Fallacy of Necessity (where there is no consent, there must be a wrong) and the Fallacy of Sufficiency (where there is consent, there cannot be a wrong). Finally, the extent to which the authority of law itself rests on consent is considered.

If the familiarity of consent-based justification engenders confusion and contempt, the analysis in this book acts as a corrective, identifying a range of abusive or misguided practices that variously under-value or over-value consent, that fictionalise it or that are fixated by it, and that treat it too casually or too cautiously. In short, the analysis in Consent in the Law points the way towards recognising an important procedural justification for precisely what it is as well as giving it a more coherent application.

Deryck Beyleveld is Professor of Law and Bioethics at the University of Durham
Roger Brownsword is Professor of Law at King's College, London

...Beyleveld and Brownsword are to be congratulated on clarifying and sharpening a range of tools to assist when consent is at issue…Theirs is a dense and detailed look at consent from the ground up. Its argumentation is clear; preceded by introduction, capped with conclusion and sewn together meticulously.
Matthew Dyson
Cambridge Law Journal
Vol 67, March 2008

...provides much food for thought. I think that its greatest strength is its detailed and careful consideration of the various limits to consent as a justification for action. Beyleveld and Brownsword's book can be warmly commended to anyone interested in this extremely important topic in political and legal theory.
Peter Cane
Law and Politics Book Review
Vol. 17 No.7 (July 2007)

A major step forward, and a valuable addition to academic literature.
Dr Benjamin Capps
Legal Studies
Vol 28, No 1

Deryck Beyleveld and Roger Brownsword's new book provides an ambitious and thorough account of the role of consent in the law and, also, as a possible basis for law's authority…Each part is almost unfailingly interesting, informative and rich in insight…one of the book's many virtues is that it raises…many…broad-ranging and interesting issues. It cannot therefore be judged anything other than a success.
William Lucy
International Journal of Law in Context
Volume 4/4, 2009