Kant, Hegel and the 'Right to Compel' Inquiry into the Modern Foundation of Legal Responsibility

Starting from a historical-philosophical perspective, this contribution sets out to investigate two different theories of legal 'responsibility', developed respectively in the Metaphysical first principles of the doctrine of right (Kant), the fi rst part of the Metaphysics of Moral, and in the fi rst section of the Outlines of the Philosophy of Right (Hegel). In particular, the aim is to highlight the original interpretation - developed by these two authors - of the (traditional) connection between freedom and coercion ( Zwang ), as well as the way in which it contributes to defining the concept of legal responsibility, in order to identify its scope in the history of legal-philosophical thought.