Moral Failure and the Law

The recent “Windrush” scandal in the United Kingdom involved the application of law by Home Office officials in a manner that demonstrated gross lack of concern and humanity for its impact on many individuals. In an endeavour to reach some understanding of how ordinary individuals could have inflicted such hardships on others, this article considers the possible effect that acting within a legal environment might have on the actors’ response to moral norms. The inquiry leads to reconsideration of established theories on the relationship between law and morality, concluding that the main theories ignore important aspects of that relationship.