Juggling Authority and Rationality: Lessons from Comparative Law
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While legal actors have long engaged with two paradigms of decision-making, claims of authority and claims of rationality, comparative law's scope to enrich that discussion has not been fully explored. First, comparative engagement with foreign authority structures and foreign adherence to rational considerations can aid the reflection on and, potentially, the improvement of the domestic understanding of established authority and rationality paradigms. Second, drawing on foreign authority or rationality can play a role in domestic law. Third, developing or adapting to the legal solutions based on authority or rationality in other legal systems or on the international level can aim at reducing inconsistency and friction when interacting with others internationally. The main challenge arises from the fact that any arguments or decisions based on foreign authority or rationality have to be reconciled with the domestic environment in which they are meant to operate. The paper explores these issues further with particular attention to supranational law and non-national law.
Sandwiches will be available from 13:00 and the seminar will start a few minutes later. Those attending in person are asked to RSVP to Lionel Smith by 22 October 2026 for catering purposes. Anyone who wishes to be sent a draft of the paper should also write to Lionel Smith who will provide it about one week in advance of the event. The link to join remotely via Microsoft Teams is below.
