Minima Iuridica Reflections on Certain Legal (Un)commonplaces

Opis

Minima Iuridica. Reflections on Certain Legal (Un)commonplaces

Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego

Autor: Jerzy Zajadło

The title of this book refers, of course, to Theodor Adorno’s well-known study, Minima Moralia: Reflections on a Damaged Life, even though some may find that very reference to be going too far, to be completely inappropriate, and, thus, quite unjustified. However, it is only a paraphrase of sorts, a play on words, a stimulus to the author’s imagination, reflection, and association called up by the German philosopher’s title – and nothing more than that. Beyond those, there are no links in terms of content. When I first came across Adorno’s text, minima moralia suggested to me an elementary morality, and only later did it become clear that Adorno’s book is about something quite different. But my first association stuck and became an inspiration for the following book. In Adorno’s text, the concept of minima moralia relates to form rather than content; in our discussions here, it relates to both – to short forms (minima) about basic legal issues (minima iuridica).

This book, Minima Iuridica. Refleksje o pewnych (nie)oczywistościach prawniczych, won the Professor Tadeusz Kotarbiński Prize for the best book in the humanities in 2020.

Contents

Foreword 7

Chapter I

Amemus patriam, pareamus legibus,

or Let us love our country, let us respect its laws 15

Chapter II

Apices iuris non sunt iura,

or Legal tricks do not constitute the law 27

Chapter III

Audiatur et altera pars,

or Let the other side be heard as well 65

Chapter IV

Cui bono fuisset,

or To whom was this a benefit? 73

Chapter V

Dura lex sed lex,

or The law is harsh but it is the law 91

Chapter VI

Ex iniuria ius non oritur,

or Law does not arise from injustice 103

Chapter VII

Ius est ars boni et aequi,

or The law is the art of goodness and equity 127

Chapter VIII

Ius et lex,

or A law and the law 147

Chapter IX

Quid est enim civitas,

or What is the state? 157

Chapter X

Salus populi suprema lex,

or The welfare of the people is the supreme law 167

Chapter XI

Servi legum sumus,

or We are slaves of the law 189

Chapter XII

Summum ius summa iniuria,

or The greatest right is the greatest injury 209

Chapter XIII

Instead of a summing up:

Sic fuit, est et erit,

or So it was, is, and will be 237

Works cited 253