Comparative Civil Procedure
Procedure & Regularity for Accuracy, True Dispute Resolution and Happiness

Law and Emotion: Intuitive Judging, Heuristics and Cognitive Biases in Law

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Meisa Kamyab 1
Mohammad Djalali 2

1 Ph.D in Public and Economic Law, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Public and Economic Law, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract
Humans use heuristics unconsciously, i.e., cognitive processes or experience-based strategies that are used to solve a problem or reach a decision, leading to cognitive biases. Judges are human and prone to the same cognitive biases, especially since the nature of their job requires judgment under uncertainty. Heuristics and cognitive biases are unconscious and occur automatically.

This article uses data from behavioral science studies and desk research to address the question of which heuristics are used in the judicial process, what biases they lead to, and how they can be moderated. Confirmation bias, hindsight bias, availability bias, representation bias, and moral bias are among the most prominent ones. There are ways to minimize harmful biases in judgment. Training and publication of judicial opinions, utilizing checklists, reassessment (by judges themselves or a higher court), and writing judicial opinions are existing solutions, some of which are reflected in procedural law and should be taken seriously. It should also bear in mind that the fallibility of the mind requires a review of the irreversible legal consequences in the judicial justice system.

Keywords

Law and Emotion
Intuitive Judgement
Procedural Law
Cognitive Biases and Heuristics in Law
Subjects
Comparative Civil Procedure
Volume 2, Issue 3
August 2026
Pages 79-103

  • Receive Date 31 December 2025
  • Revise Date 25 April 2026
  • Accept Date 28 April 2026
  • Publish Date 23 July 2026

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