Do laws matter if they’re not enforced?

The Telegraph has an article today on a 19th century Paris law banning women from wearing pants.  It’s notable because it is both unenforced and vigorously defended by Paris officials.  At least twice in the last fifty years attempts have been made to have it overturned.  In both cases, Paris officials refused.  An attempt in 2003 was met with the following response from the minister in charge of gender equality:  “Disuse is sometimes more efficient than (state) intervention in adapting the law to changing mores.”

Given the number of crazy laws in the United States, the response raises an interesting question: are unjust laws problematic if they are not enforced?

-Marc

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November 17, 2009 · Filed Under Marc

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  • Editors

    Jacob Bronsther is a law student at NYU. He has an MPhil in Political Theory from Oxford.

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