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2 Eur. J.L. Reform 321 (2000)
Legal Certainty and Principles of Proper Law Making

handle is hein.journals/ejlr2 and id is 331 raw text is: Legal Certainty and
Principles of Proper Law Making
Patricia Popelier*
A. Introduction
This article is the summary of a doctoral thesis, presented at the University of
Antwerp on 4 July 1997, which examined the uncertainty of the law and the
principles of proper law making which can be deduced from that principle.' In
Belgium, a theory of 'principles of proper law making' directed to the law makers -
including Parliament - is developing and enforceable, thanks to the far reaching
possibilities of judicial review. What follows is only a selection concerning the debate
about the principle of the certainty of the law and about the principles of proper law
making. The article will focus on the development of the principles of proper
regulation (Section B below), the meaning of the principle of the certainty of the law
(Section C below) and on its enforceability before the Belgian and European courts
(Section D below). Section E will draw conclusions from the foregoing, explaining
some of the paradoxes concerning the principle of the certainty of the law.
B. The Development of a Theory of 'Principles of Proper Law
Making' in Belgium
In The Morality of Law, Lon Fuller, using the 'allegory of King Rex', describes eight
'principles of internal morality' which are, according to the author, inherent qualities
of a legal system. These eight principles concern:
(1) the generality of laws;
(2) the demands that laws are published;
* Professor at the University of Antwerp, Post-Doctoral Researcher for FWO-Flanders
(Fund for Scientific Research).
1 P. Popelier, Rechtszekerheid als Beginsel van Behoorlijke Regelgeving (Antwerp, Intersentia,
1997), p. 663.
European Journal of Law Reform, Vol. 2, No. 3
© Kluwer Law International 2000.

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