An unjust law is no law at all

Non-natural law theorists continue to cling to the idea that natural law theorists claim that unjust laws are not laws at all. The long first part of this essay is devoted to exploding this myth. Looking by turns at Augustine, Aquinas, Suarez and Blackstone, I explain the ways in which unjust laws continue to be laws according to the central figures in the field. In the second, shorter part I explain that there are indeed some well-defined occasions on which unjust laws are not laws in any operative sense. The conclusion offers some brief further thoughts on some implications of these doctrines.