The Indeterminacy of Legal Rules

Daniel Pi (University of New Hampshire)

Abstract

This Article demonstrates that the rules of any legal system are indeterminate. The argument consists of two theorems. The first theorem proves that legal rules cannot be determined by exemplification. The second theorem proves that legal rules cannot be determined by linguistic pronouncements. Together they establish that neither precedents nor statutes can constrain the set of “legally correct” outcomes in any dispute. Therefore, any apparent patterns or regularities in legal decision-making must have causal sources outside the law. This Article considers several possible external sources, including evolutionary pressures, economic rationality, interest group politics, and social conditioning.

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