Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did Ronald Dworkin's constructive interpretation connect legal sources with fairness and justice?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

The Greek philosopher Plato — Philosophy of law Plato, marble portrait bust copied from an original of the 4th century bce; in the Capitoline Museums, Rome.

Ronald Dworkin’s theory of constructive interpretation posits that the law is not merely a collection of source-based norms, such as statutes and precedents, but rather what follows from the best interpretation of those sources.1

He argued that a constructive interpretation must perform two simultaneous functions:
* Explanatory: It must account for existing legal sources by identifying the underlying moral principles of fairness and justice that they represent.1
* Justificatory: It must rely on those same principles to provide an attractive moral justification for the legal system as it currently exists.1

By connecting legal sources to these moral principles, Dworkin sought to achieve a "principled coherence" within the law. Unlike legal positivists who view moral reasoning as separate from legal validity, Dworkin maintained that moral considerations are essential for determining the content of the law itself. Furthermore, he famously characterized individual rights as "trumps" over consequentialist arguments, asserting that the fundamental rights to equal concern and respect must guide the state’s interpretation and application of legal norms.12