The rule of data and the rule of law

• In Event: Digital Criminology: Criminal Justice and Knowledge Production

Abstract

Technological change has played a central part in the production of knowledge within the judiciary. From a time when the information produced through the practices of dispute resolution were fleeting, informal and without order, technological developments have been instrumental in the creation of modern judicial institutions and the harmonising of court culture. Through recordkeeping of cases, people, judgments and legal precedents, new ways of collecting, systematising and producing knowledge have emerged, reflecting the longstanding human endeavour to impose order and understanding on the world through systems.

The emerging digital knowledge economy however, and its vast and immersed modes of thinking around data collecting, storing, and analyzing, push these developments further. Drawing on empirical data from interviews with judges and the Norwegian Court Administration, this presentation aims to highlight how digitalisation and the institutionalisation of data practices, is heralded as a normative expectation within modern court culture. The paper argues that the digital turn and the subsequent data produced from judicial activities, is viewed as essential for the enhancement of court legitimacy and relevance. The findings raise critical questions about the future of judicial discretion and autonomy in an increasingly digitised legal system, as well as the broader implications of technological rationalisation for the rule of law.

Author

• Thea Myrvang, University of Oslo