Samenvatting

One of the primary functions of law is to ensure that the legal structure governing all social relations is predictable, coherent, consistent and applicable. All these characteristics of law are referred to as legal certainty. In traditional approaches to legal certainty, law is regarded as a hierarchic system of rules characterised by stability, clarity, predictability, uniformity, calculable enforcement, publicity and predictability.¹xWeber 1925, p. 68. Others like Llewellyn have underlined the importance of appellate courts in ensuring legal certainty by filling up gaps in the law.²xLlewellyn 1960. Also see, Stinchcombe 1999. Such traditional approaches to legal certainty were developed within the context of national legal orders, in which rule making, rule enforcement and rule adjudication authority vested within public actors functioning as representatives of the state.

Noten

• 1 Weber 1925, p. 68.

• 2 Llewellyn 1960. Also see, Stinchcombe 1999.