Bona operibus facere, sed prius non nocere translates as ‘do good works, but first of all, do no harm’.
A word or two about the name of this blog. The law loves Latin, for its pomposity, its exclusivity, and for its obscurity. More importantly, the law respects its deep roots and consistency, and developing new law based on the principles of the past. So a Latin name/epigram acknowledges the latter but, hopefully, the blog itself avoids the former.
Law and ethics are inseparable — if ethics means ‘what we ought to do’, then the law is about providing a framework that allows, and encourages, that which we ought to do to be done, and disallows or discourages that which we ought not to do from being done.
This is a view of the law as a tool for stability and guidance in society; deftly applied, the law is a ‘nudge’, to borrow a term from behavioural economics, rather than a sledge.
Finally, a disclaimer. This blog is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such.