In chapter 11 of his “Confessions”, St. Augustine expatiates on his inability to define ‘time’ in the following manner: “If no one asks me, I know: if I wish to explain it to one that asketh, I know not.” Scholars working in legal academia, it often seems, face the same dilemma, when it comes to defining the ‘Rule of Law’.
And that is quite comprehensible. Whereas everyone seems to agree, that the ‘Rule of Law’ is of singular importance when it comes to the proper functioning of any given legal system, it is difficult to ascertain what (if anything) this agreement entails. After all: there are miles between what is commonly referred to as a “thin” and a “thick” concept of the ‘Rule of Law’, miles between the positions of Friedrich Hayek and Lord Bingham or those of Lon Fuller and Ronald Dworkin.
So, oftentimes, it may seem tempting to content oneself with a more or less intuitive approach as to the demands we make of (and the aspirations we hold for) what we all agree to be of singular importance. Giving in to this temptation, many of us know if no one asks us, but do not if somebody does.
As legal philosophers we should ask ourselves, however, whether to remain silent (and be it only towards ourselves) is prudent if the question arises in such urgency as it does today. Contemporary challenges such as ‘Rule by Law’, reducing law to a mere instrument to effectuate political orthodoxy, or a ‘Rule by Algorithm’ which would reduce ‘noise’ and ‘bias’ in lockstep with eliminating the human factor in legal decision-making, force us to engage in a debate on structure and purpose of the ‘Rule of Law’ anew.
This Special Workshop is dedicated to this debate.

Organizers
Frederick Schauer, University of Virginia School of Law 
Nicoletta Bersier, Thémis  
Christoph Bezemek, University of Graz

Participants:
Open to scholars who would like to address structural issues of the Rule of Law in a broad understanding. Participants will be invited – subject to the discretion of the organizers – upon receipt of a CV and an abstract of no more than 300 words for consideration. Please send your files claudia.namesnik@unigraz.at by Friday 29th March 2024 (subject line: SWS ‘Rule of Law’).