Maastricht Foundations of Law Colloquia
On 18 March, our speaker is Damiano Canale from the Bocconi University in Milan - Title: When Experts Make the Law
The Department of Foundations of Law in the Faculty of Law cordially invites you to the next meeting of the Maastricht Foundations of Law Colloquia. On 18 March, our speaker is Damiano Canale from the Bocconi University in Milan - Title: When Experts Make the Law
Abstract:
The article discussed in the seminar examines a form of expert deference in legal decision-making that gives rise to what I call “the opacity of law.” An authoritative legal text is opaque when it incorporates technical terms or expressions that are not fully understood by either the legislators who enact the text or the judges who is called upon to apply its content. In such cases, epistemic deference shifts into semantic deference: experts effectively determine the content of authoritative legal texts and, in that sense, make new law. I argue that opacity undermines the legitimacy of statutory law in constitutional democracies and hampers judicial reasoning. Drawing on a case-law example, the article traces the sources of opacity and assesses its pernicious effects.
Convenors:
Lukasz Dziedzic
Sebastian Reyes Molina
Roland Pierik
The colloquia will take place physically and online. The Teams link for the online sessions will be distributed later.
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