When is consent required?

This chapter defends the thesis that whenever P₂ is required to get P₁’s consent before acting, it is because some right of P₁’s is potentially implicated by P₂’s act. Two types of easy cases – namely, cases in which consent is clearly required and cases in which consent need not be obtained – are discussed briefly to illustrate the thesis. The remainder of the chapter focuses on cases in which consent is frequently sought but it is not obvious that doing so is required. Sometimes the solicitation of consent in these problematic cases is merely a matter of etiquette, but often it is not. The practice of seeking consent in these cases often signals that valued rights are at stake.