Course:Law3020/2014WT1/Group P/Separation Thesis

The case of Egan v Canada is a penumbra case from the perspective of Hall. From the Separatist perspective, the definition of marriage is a question that pertains more to the rules of morality. The ruling presented by the courts is one that acknowledges that it is not the prerogative to change the moral rules and Hart would have supported the courts decision to address the legal rule in question. What was on the books at the time, marriage was between a man and a woman. The law, as presented, gave the judges a clear and concise understanding of what marriage "ought to be". As a result, the judges did not have to address the case from the penumbra and maintained the separation between law and morals.

However, the counterpoints presented by Lon Fuller on the Hart's Separation would find the courts ruling ineffective. For Fuller, thelegal and the moral are to intertwined, particularly in that the law should uphold an inner morality. The definition of marriage, particularly at the time of the case, was fairly contested. However, Fuller would most likely have agreed the judgement, in that they assessed a contested issue that involved both legal and moral rules. In their assessment, however, Fuller would not have supported the justification of tax purposes for the ruling.