Description: Why Law Matters argues that public institutions and legal procedures are valuable and matter as such, irrespective of their instrumental value. Examining the value of rights, public institutions, and constitutional review, the book criticises instrumentalist approaches in political theory, claiming they fail to account for their enduring appeal.
Review Quotes: "Its rich, detailed, intricate and novel argumentation ought to appeal to those with strong deontological intuitions and, no doubt, will stimulate the development of philosophical thought both sympathetic to and antithetical to Harel's conclusions." -Barbara Baum Levenbook, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
"Why Law Matters is a rich and thought-provoking contribution to an important debate. As I hope to have shown, its arguments in support of robust constitutionalism and its challenges to pure instrumentalism deserve to be taken seriously." - Laura Valentini, Criminal Law and Philosphy