Citation

Gross O. Law Cult. Humanit. 2007; 3(1): 35-54.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1743872107073236

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

May torture ever be morally or legally justified or excused? This article argues that an absolute legal ban on torture ought to be maintained. However, in truly catastrophic cases the appropriate method of tackling extremely grave national dangers and threats may call for going outside the legal order. The way to deal with the "extreme" or "catastrophic" case is neither by ignoring it nor by using it as the center-piece for establishing general, ex ante, policies. Rather, the focus is on the possibility that truly exceptional cases may give rise to official disobedience: Public officials may act extra-legally and be ready to accept the legal ramifications of their actions.