Abstract

The modern idea of the rule of law is based on the assertion that with the establishment of law as a central instrument of control, the incidence of violence within society could be reduced. This understanding of law is radically questioned by Walter Benjamin in his essay "Critique of Violence" and by certain poststructural authors; for them law itself is entangled in a violent momentum.This study reconstructs the discourse between Walter Benjamin, Jaques Derrida, Giorgio Agamben, and Christoph Menke on the violence of law and reflects on it from a legal perspective. In doing so, it addresses both – the philosophy of law as well as jurisprudence interested in basic principles of law.