The concept of reasonableness has two related meanings in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and

political theory Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from d ...

: # As a legal norm, it is used "for the assessment of such matters as actions, decisions, and persons, rules and institutions, ndalso arguments and judgments." # 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 judgement" ''Reasonableness'' should not be conflated with ''

rationality Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reason. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do, or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an ab ...

''.

Political theory

Reasonableness has been discussed by political thinkers such as

John Rawls John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral philosophy, moral, legal philosophy, legal and Political philosophy, political philosopher in the Modern liberalism in the United States, modern liberal tradit ...

(in his 1993 ''

Political Liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. Liberals espouse various and often mut ...

''), T. M. Scanlon,

Brian Barry Brian Barry, (7 August 1936 – 10 March 2009) was a moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determin ...

and

Georg Henrik von Wright Georg Henrik von Wright (; 14 June 1916 – 16 June 2003) was a Finnish philosopher. Biography G. H. von Wright was born in Helsinki on 14 June 1916 to Tor von Wright and his wife Ragni Elisabeth Alfthan. On the retirement of Ludwig Wittgenst ...

Law

The notion of "reasonableness" is omnipresent in European law, and has also affected "

international treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventi ...

and general customs". Examples of its use can be found in

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

law, suggesting roots going back to

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

Standards and doctrines

Standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...

and

doctrines Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymolo ...

requiring reasonableness include: *Reasonability *

Reasonable accommodation A reasonable accommodation is an adjustment made in a system to accommodate or make fair the same system for an individual based on a proven need. That need can vary. Accommodations can be religious, physical, mental or emotional, academic, or em ...

Reasonable act __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Thomas Johnson Michie. "Reasonable-Reasonably". Garland and McGehee (eds). The American and English Encyclopaedia of Law. Second Edition. Edward Thompson Company. 1903. Volume 23. Page
946
and 947 *

Reasonable appearance of danger __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable care In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care to avoid careless acts that could foreseeably harm others, and lead to claim in negligence. It is the fir ...

Reasonable cause In United States criminal law, probable cause is the legal standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal and for a court's issuing of a search warrant. One definition of the standard ...

or reasonable and probable causeWood Renton and Robertson (eds). Encyclopaedia of the Laws of England. 2nd Edition. 1908. vol 12
p 378
*

Reasonable and competent support __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable creature The born alive rule is a common law legal principle that holds that various criminal laws, such as homicide and assault, apply only to a child that is " born alive". U.S. courts have overturned this rule, citing recent advances in science and medic ...

Reasonable danger __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable diligence __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable doubt Beyond (a) reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the standard of balance of probabilities (US English: preponderance of ...

Reasonable expectation __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

(

Legitimate expectation The doctrine of legitimate expectation was first developed in English law as a ground of judicial review in administrative law to protect a procedural or substantive interest when a public authority rescinds from a representation made to a pers ...

is sometimes called reasonable expectation.) *

Reasonable facilities __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

* Reasonable fitness *

Reasonable mind __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing Reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms, also known as fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms, denote a voluntary licensing commitment that standards organizations often request from the owner of an intellectual property r ...

Reasonable person In law, a reasonable person or reasonable man is a hypothetical person whose character and care conduct, under any ''common set of facts,'' is decided through reasoning of good practice or policy. It is a legal fiction crafted by the courts an ...

(or reasonable man) *

Reasonable person model The reasonable person model (RPM) is a psychological framework which argues that people are at their best when their informational needs are met. Positing that unreasonableness is not a human trait, but rather the result of environment (context a ...

Reasonable portion __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable possibility __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

* Reasonably practicable *

Reasonable and probable damage __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

* Reasonable and probable grounds *

Reasonable provocation In law, provocation is when a person is considered to have committed a criminal act partly because of a preceding set of events that might cause a reasonable individual to lose self control. This makes them less morally culpable than if the act ...

Reasonable prudence __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable question __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable rates __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable regulation __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable right of way __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable skill __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable suspicion Reasonable suspicion is a legal standard of proof that in United States law is less than probable cause, the legal standard for arrests and warrants, but more than an "inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or 'hunch; it must be based on "speci ...

Reasonable time Reasonable time is that amount of time which is fairly necessary, conveniently, to do whatever is required to be done, as soon as circumstances permit. As a U.S. legal term, the phrase has been a topic of controversy for many years. It is generall ...

Reasonable use __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Reasonable wear and tear excepted __NOTOC__ Reasonable may refer to: * Reason, the capacity for rational thinking * Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need * Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...

Subjective and objective standard of reasonableness In law, subjective standard and objective standards are legal standards for knowledge or beliefs of a plaintiff or defendant.Quimbe Legal Definitions, ''"Subjective standard of reasonableness"'', Definition - A standard that assesses the reasonable ...

Constitutional and administrative law

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

and administrative

, reasonableness is a lens through which

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

examine Examination may refer to: * Physical examination, a medical procedure * Questioning and more specific forms thereof, for example in law: ** Cross-examination ** Direct examination * Exam as assessment, also "test", "exams", "evaluation" ** Civil s ...

the

constitutionality In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...

or lawfulness of

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

and

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

. According to

Paul Craig Paul Lindsey Craig (born 27 November 1987) is a Scottish mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, Craig formerly competed for BAMMA, where h ...

, 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 ''Prima facie'' (; ) is a Latin expression meaning "at first sight", or "based on first impression". The literal translation would be "at first face" or "at first appearance", from the feminine forms of ' ("first") and ' ("face"), both in the a ...

allowable purpose".

Common law

Examples of reasonableness standards in

common law jurisdictions Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

include: * Reasonableness ''simpliciter'' and patent unreasonableness (repealed in 2008) in

Canadian law The legal system of Canada is pluralist: its foundations lie in the English common law system (inherited from its period as a colony of the British Empire), the French civil law system (inherited from its French Empire past), and Indigenous ...

Wednesbury unreasonableness ''Associated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd. v Wednesbury Corporation'' 9481 KB 223 is an English law case that sets out the standard of unreasonableness in the decision of a public body, which would make it liable to be quashed on judicial revi ...

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

in Singaporean law

Mixed jurisdictions

* Reasonableness

cause Causality is an influence by which one event, process, state, or object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the cause is at least partly responsible for the effect, ...

Israeli law Israeli law is based mostly on a common law legal system, though it also reflects the diverse history of the territory of the State of Israel throughout the last hundred years (which was at various times prior to independence under Ottoman, t ...

( עילת הסבירות) * Reasonableness in

South African administrative law South African administrative law is the branch of public law which regulates the legal relations of public authorities, whether with private individuals and organisations or with other public authorities, or better say, in present-day South Afri ...

Reasonability

Reasonability is a

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

term. The scale of reasonability represents a quintessential element of modern

judicial system The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

s and is particularly important in the context of international disputes and conflicts of

s issues. The concept is founded on the notion that all parties should be held to a reasonable standard of conduct and has become embedded in a number of international conventions such as the

UNIDROIT UNIDROIT (formally, the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law; French: ''Institut international pour l'unification du droit privé'') is an intergovernmental organization whose objective is to harmonize private internati ...

principles and the

CISG The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), sometimes known as the Vienna Convention, is a multilateral treaty that establishes a uniform framework for international commerce.Not to be confused with oth ...

. The concept of reasonability is applicable to

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

.Frier, "Case 98: Reasonability", ''A Casebook on the Roman Law of Contracts'', OUP, 2021
p 223
María José Falcón y Tella, ''Case Law in Roman, Anglosaxon and Continental Law'', 2011, p
138
to 140.

Political theory

Law

Standards and doctrines

Constitutional and administrative law

Common law

Mixed jurisdictions

Reasonability

See also

References

Further reading

Books

Articles