The law of a GRN (part one): the micro view

Abstract

Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the laws of a GRN. I say laws in the plural sense because GRNs are both constituted by legal orders and constitute a legal order. I do this by considering individual actors’ interactions from both micro and macro perspectives. In chapter 4 I begin with the micro perspective. I look at the process of lawmaking among actors within the GRN with the aim of demonstrating the legality of the norms produced by those interactions. To that end, I draw from the writings of Lon Fuller. Fuller’s reasoning is instructive to the extent that it provides a means for understanding how actors in any setting can produce legal obligations that will govern their conduct. It is particularly instructive where there is no apparent overarching enforcement mechanism. Indeed, the identification of a norm or obligation as legal cannot be founded solely on enforcement. Rather, it must be rooted in the capacity of one actor to engage with another, the capacity and willingness to assume responsibility, and the acceptance of a distinct form of obligation established between actors. As Fuller himself puts it, the enterprise of law must involve “a commitment to the view that man is, or can become, a responsible agent, capable of understanding and following rules, and answerable for his defaults”. The creation and applicability of law, therefore, must acknowledge and respect the agency and autonomy of the individual to follow the law for reasons other than the use or threat of force. Indeed, if we are able to view transnational enterprises as responsible agents that have the capacity to create and engage with the law through interaction with other actors, then we can shift the paradigm that suggests that they are only subject to the law. Rather, as agents that participate in the creation of law, they can also show fidelity to the law and have a responsibility to engage with other actors and communities through respectful reciprocity.