ABSTRACT
In this chapter we consider whether there are any moral limits on the use of the law, particularly the criminal law. Clearly, the threats and punishments imposed by the criminal law restrict our freedom – something which, without further justification, is a bad thing. We therefore need to investigate the grounds on which the law may justifiably prohibit us from acting as we please. Is it justifiable to use the criminal law to outlaw prostitution, for instance? Or homosexuality? Or trading on Sundays? Or euthanasia? Is society justified in punishing any behaviour which it considers immoral? Or is there an area of conduct which is ‘private’ and therefore beyond the law’s rightful reach? And if there is an area which is private in this sense – an area in which we should be left free to make our own choices – what kind of conduct falls within it? Of course, if there is such an area, we would be entitled to claim a right to act free of state interference in it, which means, as we now know from our discussion of the trumping character of rights, that any public interest in regulating our conduct would necessarily take a back seat.
