# Reasonableness
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{{Short description|Legal concept}}
{{Judicial interpretation}}
The concept of '''reasonableness''' has two related meanings in [law](/source/law) and [political theory](/source/Political_philosophy):
# As a [legal norm](/source/legal_norm), it is used "for the assessment of such matters as actions, decisions, and persons, rules and institutions, [and] also arguments and judgments."[{{Cite book |title=Reasonableness and law |date=2009 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4020-8499-7 |editor-last=Bongiovanni |editor-first=Giorgio |series=Law and philosophy library |location=Dordrecht Heidelberg}}]
# As a regulative idea, it "requires... that all factors that might be relevant in answering a practical question be considered and... that they be assembled in a correct relation to each other in order to justify [a judgement]."[{{Cite journal |last=Moore |first=Margaret |date=1996 |title=On Reasonableness |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-5930.1996.tb00159.x |journal=Journal of Applied Philosophy |language=en |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=167–178 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-5930.1996.tb00159.x |issn=0264-3758|url-access=subscription }}][{{Cite journal |last=Boettcher |first=James W. |date=2004 |title=What is reasonableness? |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0191453704045756 |journal=Philosophy & Social Criticism |language=en |volume=30 |issue=5–6 |pages=597–621 |doi=10.1177/0191453704045756 |s2cid=146271626 |issn=0191-4537|url-access=subscription }}][{{Cite journal |last=Zorzetto |first=Silvia |date=2015 |title=Reasonableness |journal=Italian Law Journal |volume=1 |pages=107}}] Examples of its use can be found in [canon](/source/Canon_law) and [medieval](/source/Jus_commune) law, suggesting roots going back to [Ancient Rome](/source/Ancient_Rome).[Thomas Johnson Michie. "Reasonable-Reasonably". Garland and McGehee (eds). The American and English Encyclopaedia of Law. Second Edition. Edward Thompson Company. 1903. Volume 23. Pages [https://archive.org/details/cu31924061132621/page/946/mode/1up 946] and 947]
*[Reasonable appearance of danger](/source/Reasonable_appearance_of_danger)[
*[Reasonable care](/source/Reasonable_care)][Garland and McGehee (eds). "Reasonable Care". The American and English Encyclopaedia of Law. Second Edition. Edward Thompson Company. 1903. Volume 23. Pages [https://archive.org/details/cu31924061132621/page/947/mode/1up Page 947].]
*[Reasonable cause](/source/Reasonable_cause)[ or reasonable and probable cause][Wood Renton and Robertson (eds). Encyclopaedia of the Laws of England. 2nd Edition. 1908. vol 12. [https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofl12jacouoft/page/378/mode/1up?view=theater p 378].]
*[Reasonable and competent support](/source/Reasonable_and_competent_support)[
*[Reasonable creature](/source/Reasonable_creature)][
*[Reasonable danger](/source/Reasonable_danger)][
*[Reasonable diligence](/source/Reasonable_diligence)][Garland and McGehee (eds). "Reasonable Diligence". The American and English Encyclopaedia of Law. Second Edition. Edward Thompson Company. 1903. Volume 23. Pages [https://archive.org/details/cu31924061132621/page/947/mode/1up Page 947].]
*[Reasonable doubt](/source/Reasonable_doubt)
*[Reasonable expectation](/source/Reasonable_expectation)[ ([Legitimate expectation](/source/Legitimate_expectation) is sometimes called reasonable expectation.)][Alexander Brown, A Theory of Legitimate Expectations for Public Administration, Oxford University Press, 2017, [https://books.google.com/books?id=IhFADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 p 4].]
*[Reasonable facilities](/source/Reasonable_facilities)[
*[Reasonable fitness](/source/Reasonable_fitness)][
*[Reasonable mind](/source/Reasonable_mind)][
*[Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing](/source/Reasonable_and_non-discriminatory_licensing)
*[Reasonable person](/source/Reasonable_person) (or reasonable man)][
*[Reasonable person model](/source/Reasonable_person_model)
*[Reasonable portion](/source/Reasonable_portion)][
*[Reasonable possibility](/source/Reasonable_possibility)][
*[Reasonably practicable](/source/Reasonably_practicable)][
*[Reasonable and probable damage](/source/Reasonable_and_probable_damage)][
*[Reasonable and probable grounds](/source/Reasonable_and_probable_grounds_in_Australia)
*[Reasonable provocation](/source/Reasonable_provocation)][
*[Reasonable prudence](/source/Reasonable_prudence)][
*[Reasonable question](/source/Reasonable_question)][
*[Reasonable rates](/source/Reasonable_rates)][
*[Reasonable regulation](/source/Reasonable_regulation)][
*[Reasonable right of way](/source/Reasonable_right_of_way)][
*[Reasonable skill](/source/Reasonable_skill)][Garland and McGehee (eds). "Reasonable Skill". The American and English Encyclopaedia of Law. Second Edition. Edward Thompson Company. 1903. Volume 23. Pages [https://archive.org/details/cu31924061132621/page/971/mode/1up Page 971].]
*[Reasonable suspicion](/source/Reasonable_suspicion)
*[Reasonable time](/source/Reasonable_time)[Thomas Johnson Michie. "Reasonable Time". Garland and McGehee (eds). The American and English Encyclopaedia of Law. Second Edition. Edward Thompson Company. 1903. Volume 23. Pages [https://archive.org/details/cu31924061132621/page/971/mode/1up Page 971].][
*[Reasonable use](/source/Reasonable_use)][
*[Reasonable wear and tear excepted](/source/Reasonable_wear_and_tear_excepted)][
*[Subjective and objective standard of reasonableness](/source/Subjective_and_objective_standard_of_reasonableness)
{{div col end}}
=== Constitutional and administrative law ===
In [constitutional](/source/constitutional_law) and [administrative](/source/administrative_law) [law](/source/law), reasonableness is a lens through which [court](/source/court)s [examine](/source/Judicial_review) the [constitutionality](/source/constitutionality) or lawfulness of [legislation](/source/legislation) and [regulation](/source/regulation).][{{Cite web |title=5.3 Reasonableness |url=https://www.icj.org/chapter-5-standards-and-techniques-of-review-in-domestic-adjudication-of-esc-rights-2/5-3-reasonableness/ |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=International Commission of Jurists |date=21 December 2020 |language=en-US}}][{{Cite journal |last=Zaring |first=David |date=2011 |title=Rule by Reasonableness |url=https://www.administrativelawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Rule-by-Reasonableness.pdf |journal=Administrative Law Review |volume=63 |pages=525}}][{{Cite journal |last=Garrett |first=Brandon L. |date=2017 |title=Constitutional Reasonableness |url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6531&context=faculty_scholarship |journal=Minnesota Law Review |volume=102 |pages=61}}] According to [Paul Craig](/source/Paul_Craig_(legal_scholar)), it is "concerned with review of the weight and balance accorded by the primary decision-maker to factors that have been or can be deemed relevant in pursuit of a [prima facie](/source/prima_facie) allowable purpose".[{{Cite journal |last=Craig |first=Paul |date=2013-01-01 |title=The Nature of Reasonableness Review |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2298612_code468680.pdf?abstractid=2298612&mirid=1 |journal=Current Legal Problems |language=en |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=131–167 |doi=10.1093/clp/cut010 |issn=0070-1998|url-access= }}]
==== Common law ====
Examples of reasonableness standards in [common law jurisdictions](/source/Common_law) include:
* Reasonableness ''simpliciter'' and [patent unreasonableness](/source/Patently_unreasonable) (repealed in 2008) in [Canadian law](/source/Law_of_Canada)[{{Cite journal |last=Knight |first=Cjs |date=2008 |title=Reasonableness Transformed (in Canada) |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10854681.2008.11426572 |journal=Judicial Review |language=en |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=214–218 |doi=10.1080/10854681.2008.11426572 |s2cid=158748576 |issn=1085-4681|url-access=subscription }}]
* [Wednesbury unreasonableness](/source/Wednesbury_unreasonableness) in [English law](/source/English_law)
* [Wednesbury unreasonableness](/source/Wednesbury_unreasonableness_in_Singapore_law) in [Singaporean law](/source/Law_of_Singapore)
==== Mixed jurisdictions ====
* Reasonableness [cause](/source/Causality) in [Israeli law](/source/Israeli_law) ([עילת הסבירות](/source/%3Ahe%3A%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%A1%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA))
* Reasonableness in [South African administrative law](/source/South_African_administrative_law)
===Reasonability===
{{Expand Hebrew|topic=gov|עילת הסבירות|section=yes|date=August 2023}}
{{refimprove section|date=August 2023}}
'''Reasonability''' is a [legal](/source/legal) term. The scale of reasonability represents a quintessential element of modern [judicial system](/source/judicial_system)s and is particularly important in the context of international disputes and conflicts of [law](/source/law)s issues. The concept is founded on the notion that all parties should be held to a reasonable standard of conduct{{fact|date=August 2023}} and has become embedded in a number of international conventions such as the [UNIDROIT](/source/UNIDROIT) principles[Teramura. [https://books.google.com/books?id=PJrnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT155 "Demonstrating reasonableness"]. Ex Aequo et Bono as a Response to the ‘Over-Judicialisation’ of International Commercial Arbitration. 2020.] and the [CISG](/source/CISG).[Article 8 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods]
The concept of reasonability is applicable to [Roman law](/source/Roman_law).[Frier, "Case 98: Reasonability", ''A Casebook on the Roman Law of Contracts'', OUP, 2021, [https://books.google.com/books?id=huEsEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA223 p 223]. María José Falcón y Tella, ''Case Law in Roman, Anglosaxon and Continental Law'', 2011, pp [https://books.google.com/books?id=i_N5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA138 138] to 140.]
== See also ==
*[Reason](/source/Reason)
*[Reasonable person model](/source/Reasonable_person_model)
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
=== Books ===
* {{Cite book |last1=Bongiovanni |first1=Giorgio |title=Reasonableness and law |last2=Sartor |first2=Giovanni |last3=Valentini |first3=Chiara |date=2009 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4020-8500-0 |series=Law and philosophy library |location=Dordrecht New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hevia |first=Martín |title=Reasonableness and responsibility: a theory of contract law |date=2013 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-94-007-4604-6 |series=Law and philosophy library |location=Dordrecht}}
* {{Cite book |last=Vadi |first=Valentina |title=Proportionality, reasonableness and standards of review in international investment law and arbitration |date=2018 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |isbn=978-1-78536-858-5 |series=Elgar international investment law |location=Cheltenham, UK Northampton, MA, USA}}
* {{Cite book |title=Reasonableness and interpretation |date=2003 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-8258-6638-9 |editor-last=Volpi |editor-first=Franco |edition= |series=Ars interpretandi |location=Münster}}
* {{Cite book |title=Reasonableness in Liberal Political Philosophy |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2014 |isbn=9781317983750 |editor-last=Young |editor-first=Shaun}}
* {{Cite thesis |last=Dindjer |first=Hasan |title=A theory of reasonableness in administrative law |date=2020 |degree=Ph.D. |publisher=University of Oxford |url=https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.833318}}
=== Articles ===
* {{Cite journal |last=Boettcher |first=James W. |date=2004 |title=What is reasonableness? |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0191453704045756 |journal=Philosophy & Social Criticism |language=en |volume=30 |issue=5–6 |pages=597–621 |doi=10.1177/0191453704045756 |s2cid=146271626 |issn=0191-4537|url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Clancy |first=Thomas K. |date=2004 |title=The Fourth Amendment's Concept of Reasonableness |journal=Utah Law Review |issue=4 |pages=277 |ssrn=1565797}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Craig |first=Paul |date=2013 |title=The Nature of Reasonableness Review |journal=Current Legal Problems |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=131–167 |doi=10.1093/clp/cut010|url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2298612_code468680.pdf?abstractid=2298612&mirid=1 }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Garrett |first=Brandon L. |date=2017 |title=Constitutional Reasonableness |journal=Minnesota Law Review |volume=102 |issue= |pages=61–126}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Mangini |first=Michele |date=2018 |title=Toward a theory of reasonableness |journal=Ratio Juris |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=208–230|doi=10.1111/raju.12205 }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Zipursky |first=Benjamin C. |date=2015 |title=Reasonableness in and out of Negligence Law |journal=University of Pennsylvania Law Review |volume=163 |issue=7 |pages=2131–2170}}
* {{Cite news |last=Sokol |first=Sam |date=2023-01-19 |title=Israel's 'Reasonableness' Standard Is in the News. But What Is It and Why Do We Need It? |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-01-19/ty-article/.premium/israels-reasonableness-standard-is-in-the-news-but-what-is-it-and-why-do-we-need-it/00000185-ca85-d3a8-a3cf-cfb54d660000 |access-date=2023-07-13}}
* [Krishnan, Nikhil](/source/Nikhil_Krishnan), "Start Making Sense: Being reasonable as a social virtue" (reviews [Krista Lawlor](/source/Krista_Lawlor), ''Being Reasonable: The Case for a Misunderstood Virtue'', Harvard), ''[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)'', 27 April 2026, pp. 59–62.
Category:Administrative law
Category:Constitutional law
Category:Legal doctrines and principles
Category:Political philosophy
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