Duty of Allegiance

The crime of treason and its related offences are among the oldest in our criminal system and have always relied on the assumption that the citizen is subject to a duty of allegiance towards the State. This is commonly justified through the use of the social contract methodological device. Considering the historical background of political misuses associated with crimes against the State, this book challenges the assumption that the citizens ever consented to the obligation of loyalty in the original covenant.Specifically, this book advocates that there is no moral basis to assume that we would have consented to a duty of loyalty.