Ramsay Lectures
Well-Tempered Power: The Rule of Law in Theory & Practice
An exclusive lecture by Professor Martin Krygier
Professor Martin Krygier AM
What is the key to ‘well-tempered power’? Can the rule of law be sustained by the law alone, or does it need to be blended with distinct cultural, political, social and economic forces? The Western concept of the ‘rule of law’ has not been applied with equal success in countries globally, many of whom have all the dressings of a legal system including courts, judges and lawyers, but still experience arbitrary exercise of significant power.
For our fifth Ramsay Lecture for 2024, the Ramsay Centre is pleased to present an in-person lecture by Professor Martin Krygier titled: Well-Tempered Power: The Rule of Law in Theory & Practice.
Professor Krygier is one of the world’s leading theorists on the rule of law. His argument that the rule of law, well understood, is not merely “following the rules” but includes a culture of respect for all sorts of limitation on arbitrary power, is one of the most original and influential jurisprudential arguments of the past fifty years. In his presentation Professor Krygier explains and defends his conception of the rule of law and discusses the challenges it faces around the world today.
NSW Solicitor-General Michael Sexton SC, an esteemed commentator and author of several books on Australian history and politics, then offers a response.
Please join us for this stimulating discussion about the concepts of ‘well-tempered power’ and the rule of law.
Professor Martin Krygier AM
Professor Martin Krygier AM is the Gordon Samuels Professor of Law and Social Theory at the University of NSW and Senior Research Fellow, Rule of Law Program, Central European University Democracy Institute, Budapest. A Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, Professor Krygier is regularly invited as Visiting Professor at universities and institutes around the world. He frequently lectures on issues surrounding the rule of law, most recently at Hong Kong University (2024 public lecture); Glasgow (2024 Adam Smith Lecture in Jurisprudence); and Seoul (2024 opening plenary lecture, 2024 International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy World Congress on ‘Rule of Law, Justice and Democracy’). In 1997 he delivered the ABC Boyer Lectures, Between Fear and Hope: Hybrid Thoughts on Public Values. In 2016 he was awarded the Dennis Leslie Mahoney Prize in Legal Theory for his writings on the rule of law, and his intellectual biography of renowned sociologist Philip Selznick.
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