Science and Judicial Reasoning - The legitimacy of international environmental adjudication

Science and Judicial Reasoning - The legitimacy of international environmental adjudication (Sulyok Katalin / 2022). Science, which inevitably underlies environmental disputes, poses significant challenges for the scientifically untrained judges who decide such cases. 

In addition to disrupting ordinary fact-finding and causal inquiry, science can impact the framing of disputes and the standard of review. Judges must therefore adopt various tools to adjust the level of science allowed to enter their deliberations, which may fundamentally impact the legitimacy of their reasoning. While neglecting or replacing scientific authority can erode the convincing nature of judicial reasoning, the same authority, when treated properly, may lend persuasive force to adjudicatory findings, and buttress the legitimacy of judgments. In this work, Katalin Sulyok surveys the environmental case law of seven major jurisdictions and analyzes framing techniques, evidentiary procedures, causal inquiries and standards of review, offering valuable insight into how judges justify their choices between rival scientific claims in a convincing and legitimate manner.

Builds upon interdisciplinary insights from natural science literature and the philosophy of science to explain the challenges of adjudicating science-heavy legal disputes
Examines judicial techniques with respect to all four stages of the adjudicatory process, where judges confront scientific arguments and evidence
Provides an in-depth analysis of environmental decisions of seven major international courts and tribunals and shows how scientific arguments and evidence are appreciated and circumvented by judges
(Source: publisher CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS)

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Editorial

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George Kazoleas, Lawyer

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