Sensitive Judges? An Introductory Analysis of the Role of Emotions in Judicial Decision Making

Abstract

In this paper I work on some of the problems related to the role of emotions in the judicial decision. My hypothesis is that there is an emotional dimension in the phenomenon of judicial decision which has been relatively neglected in the studies of jurists and legal theorists. Then, after reviewing the functioning of emotions and empathy as well as the particularities of Public Interest Litigation, I argue about the relevance of the former in order to achieve an adequate judgment of complex conflicts. Finally, from a normative perspective, judicial virtues are revisited, looking for a link between emotions and the appropriate role played by judges in deciding.