AustLII Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback

Edited Legal Collections Data

You are here:  AustLII >> Databases >> Edited Legal Collections Data >> 2018 >> [2018] ELECD 619

Database Search | Name Search | Recent Articles | Noteup | LawCite | Help

Loretoni, Anna --- "The rule of law and feminism: The dilemma of differences" [2018] ELECD 619; in May, Christopher; Winchester, Adam (eds), "Handbook on the Rule of Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018) 333

Book Title: Handbook on the Rule of Law

Editor(s): May, Christopher; Winchester, Adam

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781786432438

Section: Chapter 20

Section Title: The rule of law and feminism: The dilemma of differences

Author(s): Loretoni, Anna

Number of pages: 12

Abstract/Description:

The introduction of the question of gender in the various disciplines has been very productive in deconstructing and transforming the essential features of the research paths and the concepts as well. This chapter starts critically focusing on the critique of the idea of universality and neutrality, a typical idea of liberal thinking and deeply embedded in its theoretical paradigms, included the definition of rule of law. Through a process of deconstruction, feminism has been enable to identify in the space of law a form that confers an appearance of neutrality to theoretical categories that in fact entails an implicit adherence to a given social and political model of individual. Furthermore, the chapter analyses the feminist approach towards the subjective identities, the abandonment of universalism and the adoption of an approach which is looking at individuals in the context of their specific social relationships. Stemming from this perspective, two main topics are underlined. The first is the conception of justice as equal distribution of goods. According to the author, rights should not be conceived as goods or property. Rather than being objects, rights are relationships and institutionally defined rules, they do not refer to what the person materially possesses. Therefore, the chapter proposes a definition of injustice not as a mere withdrawal of goods, rather than a restriction of freedom and, above all, an injury to dignity, including in this definition the relevance of ‘immaterial factors’. In this same perspective, finally, the chapter proposes a second topic, related to the comparison between rights language and capability approach.


AustLII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback
URL: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ELECD/2018/619.html