Legislation and expertise on goals

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Nowadays much legislation is effectively brought about by experts. Import from experts in legislation may be a welcome contribution to legislative quality. In “Legislation and Expertise on Goals” I address a fundamental objection against expert legislation, namely that the required expertise cannot exist. Briefly stated, the objection boils down to the following: The quality of legislation depends in part on the goals pursued by means of the legislation. There can be no expertise on goals because they are not an object of knowledge, but rather of adoption. Knowledge which standards are good, or suitable, is fundamentally impossible, and expertise on this subject is for the same reason out of the question. I will call this the argument from the “cognitive gap”.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)351-366
Number of pages16
JournalThe Theory and Practice of Legislation
Volume3
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2009

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