juridiskrasjonell

Juridiskrasjonell is a term used in legal philosophy to describe an approach that foregrounds rational justification in the design, interpretation, and application of law. The compound combines 'juridisk' (legal) and 'rasjonell' (rational) and is used by scholars to refer to a family of positions that seek to render legal systems intelligible through explicit principles of rationality, methodological rigor, and rule-based reasoning.

Origin and usage: The term appears mainly in Nordic academic discourse. It is not a formal school with a single creed, but a descriptor for debates about how far law should be guided by rational criteria like coherence with constitutional guarantees, internal consistency across cases, and transparent justificatory standards.

Conceptual framework: Core ideas include rational justification of rules and outcomes, coherence of the legal system, and a methodologically rigorous approach to interpretation. Proponents typically emphasize deductive or principle-based reasoning and the alignment of legal decision-making with overarching constitutional or doctrinal aims. Some discussions also intersect with law-and-economics or rational-choice methods while remaining anchored in rational justification rather than mere efficiency.

Relation to other theories: Juridiskrasjonell is often described as a form of legal formalism or rationalist jurisprudence, distinct from legal realism, which stresses contingencies of social practice, and from some post-positivist critiques of formalism.

Criticism: Critics argue that an overemphasis on abstract rationality can overlook moral considerations, social context, and issues of justice, and that what counts as 'rational' may reflect power structures.

See also: legal formalism, legal positivism, rational choice theory.