Abstract
In legal scholarship, it is almost self-evident that “certainty” is an advantage for regulation. “Uncertainty,” on the other hand, is usually viewed as an inevitable by-product of vague legal standards that may be justified by the prohibitive cost of creating bright-line rules or by the inability of the legislature to account ex ante for the complexity of a particular situation. This article challenges the conventional view and proclaims the advantages of legal uncertainty. It recognizes some of the drawbacks that may arise due to uncertainty and hence illustrates several refinements and limitations regarding the use of a “veil of uncertainty” mechanism to improve its potential benefits for lawmakers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Blinding as a Solution to Bias |
| Subtitle of host publication | Strengthening Biomedical Science, Forensic Science, and Law |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Pages | 345-361 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780128024607 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780128026335 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jan 2016 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Altruistic motivation
- Ex post versus ex ante
- Jurisprudential and behavioral arguments
- Legal ambiguity
- Legal uncertainty
- Masking
- Veil of ignorance