MORALITY OF THE DUTY OF OBEDIENCE TO LAW

""Whether a duty of obedience to law is a moral duty as well" is one of the crucial questions in the field of Philosophy of Law. In this regard three answers are supposed: 1- Obedience to law is not a moral duty; 2- Obedience to law is an absolute moral duty; 3- Obedience to law is a prima facie moral duty. Many of law philosophers (particularly some of the adherents to positivism e.g. Astin) attribute obedience to law to the fear of the sanctions and consider the law and ethics as pertaining to two separate fields. They simply believe that a moral duty to obey a norm cannot be inferred form its legality, as a legal duty to obey a norm, is not inferred form its morality.