Hybrid | Circumstances of Law

A talk in the John Austin Seminar Series

Speaker: Grégoire Webber, Professor of Law and Philosophy (Queen's University, Canada)

Chair: George Letsas, Professor of Philosophy of Law (UCL Laws)

About the Seminar:

Justice derives its origin, Hume tells us, from the confined generosity of persons and the scanty provision nature has made for our wants. Expanding our understanding of these facts and their relationship to justice, Rawls envisioned these “circumstances of justice” as those conditions under which social cooperation is both possible and necessary. This idea of circumstances has animated others in exploring the relationship between conditions and concepts, including Waldron’s account of the circumstances of politics. The questions I explore all relate to an underdeveloped idea in the philosophy of law: the circumstances of law. Is there a parallel relationship between conditions for and the concept of law? Does reflection on the conditions for law give us reason to favour one or another conception of law? In turn, do different conceptions of law highlight different conditions for law's possibility and necessity? And do we best understand some lasting contributions to jurisprudence, such as HLA Hart's account of the shift from a pre-legal to a legal society, as themselves participating in the idea of law's circumstances?

About the Speaker:

Grégoire Webber is Professor of Law and Philosophy at Queen's University. He holds visiting appointments at the London School of Economics and the Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas. Before joining Queen's as Canada Research Chair in Public Law and Philosophy of Law (2014-2024), he was at the LSE Law School. His areas of research are human rights, public law, and jurisprudence.

UCL 200:

UCL200 marks the bicentenary of University College London — 200 years since our founding in 1826 and our legacy of pioneering education, research, and community.

Throughout 2026, UCL will host a vibrant programme of events and activities celebrating our founding values, our global impact, our communities, and our vision for the future. Visit the UCL200 website to explore the full programme and learn how you can get involved.

To see how UCL Laws is contributing to this landmark year — with events, stories, and initiatives highlighting two centuries of legal scholarship and impact — visit the UCL Laws UCL200 page.

Photo by Gaétan Marceau Caron on Unsplash