Natural Law and Original Meaning

Event Summary

On September 1, a group of prominent legal scholars joined AEI’s J. Joel Alicea to discuss one of the most timely—and divisive—debates in the conservative legal community: What is the relationship between natural law theory and American constitutionalism? Is the natural law tradition compatible with the doctrine of originalism?

Notre Dame Law School’s Sherif Girgis began his remarks by defining originalism and the natural law tradition. He then maintained that it is generally possible for a legal system to be originalist without violating the natural law as we understand it.

Next, Kevin Walsh of the Catholic University of America outlined concepts fundamental to the natural law tradition: justice, law, and jurisdiction. He concluded that an originalism anchored by the classical natural law tradition should presuppose that our constitutional law consists of the original law of the Constitution, along with any lawful changes since.

Finally, Lee Strang of the University of Toledo College of Law explained how the relationship between natural law and originalism became a topic of such lively scholarly interest. He concluded that natural law and originalism are more than just compatible; in his view, natural law provides an elegant account of the American constitutional tradition.

—Max Markon

Event Description

Natural law theory is the talk of the town right now among conservative constitutional scholars. But how should we understand this tradition’s relationship to American constitutionalism? And is it compatible with originalism?

Originalism’s detractors, like Harvard Law School’s Adrian Vermeule, argue that the theory is morally empty and insufficient to create a just society. Originalist natural law theorists counter that originalism is based on moral claims about legitimate authority, the nature of the common good, and the particularities of the American constitutional system.

Join AEI and the Catholic University of America’s Project on Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition for a discussion on the relationship between originalism and the natural law tradition.

Agenda
5:30 p.m. – Introduction: J. Joel Alicea, Nonresident Fellow, AEI

5:35 p.m. – Discussion

Panelists:
Sherif Girgis, Associate Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School
Lee Strang, John W. Stoepler Professor of Law & Values, University of Toledo College of Law
Kevin Walsh, Professor of Law, Catholic University of America

Moderator:
J. Joel Alicea, Nonresident Fellow, AEI

6:30 p.m. – Q&A

6:45 p.m. – Adjournment