Fidelity to law is a legal and philosophical concept that describes a person's or official's duty to remain faithful to the rule of law . It is most famously associated with legal philosopher Lon L. Fuller
Modern law is impossibly voluminous. No one can know all regulations. This leads to "selective enforcement," which undermines the sense that law applies equally to all. When enforcement is arbitrary, fidelity becomes irrational.
Law and morality are strictly separate. A law is valid if it is created by the proper authority.
Fidelity means accurately identifying and applying "the law as it is," regardless of its moral quality. For Hart, fidelity is a practical virtue of truthfulness and candor, requiring judges to be honest about what the law dictates, even if they must ultimately decide to disobey it on moral grounds. Natural Law / Procedural Morality (Lon L. Fuller):
In legal circles, we often talk about "fidelity to law." But what does it actually mean? Is it just blind obedience? According to the famous Hart-Fuller debate , the answer is a resounding
Connotations and critiques