Abstract of Paper to be Presented at Accio 2005

Which beast is more fantastic: the rule of law or the crumpled horned snorkack?

AJ Hall

AJH argues that in the Wizarding World the real difference between the Rule of Law and the Crumple Horned Snorkack is that the Rule of Law is mythical. Her paper starts with 1692, the date of the original Statute of Secrecy, which, she postulates, provoked a divergence between Wizard and Muggle procedure, so that while Wizarding institutions may have superficial similarities to their Muggle equivalents, the underlying reality is quite different. The Wizarding World operates a form of bastard patronage in which Draco Malfoy's comment "it isn't what you know, it's who you know that counts" is a literal statement of the constitutional realities. The impact which this has upon how laws are made and enforced in the Wizarding World is profound. The paper will examine why Hermione's and - to some extent - Harry's assumptions about how a legal system ought to work, based on their Muggle expectations, highlight the fundamental but hidden flaws in the Wizarding legal and social structures, and discusses how the absence of legal safeguards makes the rise of Voldemort - and others like him - not merely possible but inevitable.

Send an eCard from the Accio Post Office!