Abstract

DEI VECCHI, Diego. Judicial Ruling, Evidence and Error The Role of the Truth of Factual Premises in the Application of Legal Rules and in the Justification of Judicial Decisions. Isonomía [online]. 2023, n.58, pp.107-148.  Epub Aug 11, 2023. ISSN 1405-0218.  https://doi.org/10.5347/isonomia.58/2023.655.

This paper explores the role that the truth of factual statements plays in applying legal norms and in the justification of judicial decisions. It is argued that the truth of the factual premise is irrelevant regarding an «inferentialist» interpretation of the concept of application of legal norms and that it is also unrelated to the internal justification of judicial decisions. Then it is also argued that the truth of the factual premise is neither a necessary condition for different dimensions of external justification. In short: the truth of the factual premise is not a necessary condition for the justification of the judicial decision in any plausible sense in which such a justification can be evaluated. This does not mean, however, that the truth of that premise is irrelevant tout court.

Keywords : judicial ruling; application of rules; truth; evidence.

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