نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسنده
دانشآموخته دکتری حقوق عمومی، حقوق عمومی و اقتصادی، دانشکده حقوق، دانشگاه شهید بهشتی، تهران، ایران
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسنده [English]
Introduction
This article is based on the premise that the traditional dichotomy of law and emotion faces serious challenges. This premise is deduced from the empirical findings of neuroscience regarding the existence of mirror neurons, which make feeling the emotions of others possible and inevitable, along with the dual-process model of decision-making. This model requires the cooperation of rational and emotional processing and shows that moral judgment is dependent on emotions.
Every legal actor, whether serving as a legislator or donning the judicial robe, may agree that “emotion inevitably enters the legal decision-making process, whether legal actors are aware of it or not.” However, this broad claim offers no practical guidance for clarifying the specific. ways in which emotion influences judicial decision-making. In order to clarify some of these entry points, the article begins with the premise that law, a priori, cannot be for or against emotions. Emotionality is a dimension of human nature; however, responses to emotion are determined within a framework
Intersectionality of Law and Emotion: Entry Points for Emotion …
and according to the objectives of the law. Therefore, it does not take a normative stance on the value of any specific emotion. Although some argue that certain moral emotions contribute to the formation and sustainability of moral systems across cultures, emotions are not inherently moralistic or beneficial for morality. Instead, they play a constructive role in moral responses.
Judges may err due to reliance on irrelevant emotions, by improperly applying or excessively amplifying appropriate emotions. As an effort to make emotions reliable, correcting these errors requires identifying the points at which emotion enters the legal process. When this reliability is reconsidered, encouraging judges to consider emotions in interpreting rights equips them with a corrective tool against excessive legal formalism and attracts their attention to otherwise overlooked violated rights. The integration of emotions moderates the detached voice of outdated legal analysis and makes it more human-centered. Therefore, “studies on law and emotion” demonstrate the vital role of emotion in everyone’s legal life.
Protecting abstract legal concepts requires judges to develop a strong emotional understanding of specific situations and individuals during their reasoning process. This article seeks to create a coherent body of literature, building on previous findings regarding the role of emotion in legal decision-making based on neuroscience studies and the importance of empathy in judgment. It aims to make the abstract concept of “emotion in judicial decision-making” more concrete by presenting examples and thereby enlightening legal actors about its impacts.
Methods
This manuscript tries to address the non-enumerated ways in which emotions enter legal proceedings and judicial decision-making. Answering this question requires case studies and analysis of legal texts. It should be noted that the answers provided merely represent a partial reality and are not exhaustive.
This study falls within the category of normative legal research and seeks to offer an explanation of law, legal concepts, and principles. This research adopts a library-based approach. Materials are gathered through case studies and legal texts analysis. The present analysis uses the legal doctrine approach within “Law and Emotion” scholarship, in the sense that it tries to analyze how emotion is, could be, or should be reflected in a particular area of legal doctrine. It is also related to the legal actor approach, as it shows how lawmakers or judges bring emotional concepts into the legal sphere consciously or unconsciously.
Volume 18, Issue 1, Spring 2026
Results
Emotion in judicial proceedings can serve as a tool for judges, guiding their minds toward the importance of concepts like justice and altruism (orienting role), expanding general legal concepts such as human dignity and fairness (tracking role), or placing them in a suitable position to respond to rights violations (serving role) through empathy or courage.
The law, whether dealing with criminal law, fundamental rights and freedoms, or private fields such as property, family, or procedural law, carries an emotional charge. Thus, a judge’s task is inherently infused with emotion, and it is unreasonable to expect them to function as machines devoid of any human sensibility. The laws themselves generate emotions and provide judges with opportunities to manage these emotions through their judicial decisions. Accordingly, the role of judges should shift from suppressing emotions to cultivating constructive and adaptive emotions through judicial decisions. Understanding the entry points of emotion in legal decision-making provides an opportunity to leverage judicial and institutional capacities to foster adaptive emotions by considering them in legal interpretation.
Conclusions
Emotions are both a tool in the judicial work and a factor that influences the subject matter of judicial activity, namely, the law itself. They are also shaped by legislation and jurisprudence. A judge who engages with legal content replete with emotional elements cannot reasonably be expected to set emotion aside. The only viable approach is to become aware of emotions and regulate them, rather than suppressing or denying emotional responses. Many rules designed to regulate adjudication, particularly those embodied in procedural law, have pursued this very goal. However, confining judges to extreme formalism silences the constructive role of emotions in law. If judges are encouraged to attend to emotions in interpreting rights, they will possess a corrective tool against excessive formalism. The use of emotion in legal interpretation helps ensure that the real-world effects of law are taken seriously. It also highlights the human rights that may have been overlooked. Therefore, law and adjudication can function as powerful instruments for cultivating constructive emotions, those that, irrespective of their positive or negative valence, ultimately contribute to the formation of a cohesive society.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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