ABSTRACT
This paper examines, from a conceptual and lexicographical perspective, the question whether there is a difference between owing an ‘obligation’ and owing a ‘duty’. It argues that although the words are sometimes used as synonyms, there is a clearly articulable sense in which obligations (that is, the burdensome end of them) are a subset of duties. Every obligation is a duty but not every duty is an obligation. Although the argument is largely made with sources from Quebec civil law, the author suggests that the distinction is also present in common law English.
Smith, Lionel, Obligation and Duty-Two Things or One? (November 20, 2025). Forthcoming in M Antaki and M Cumyn, eds, Dire et définir le droit (2026).
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