Proceduralization and Undecidability

Benoit Frydman presents Jacques Lenoble's essay on law and communication, which articulates a reflection on the transition from a legal paradigm based on calculative and deterministic reason (liberal state and welfare state) toward a new procedural paradigm inscribed within Jürgen Habermas's communicational philosophy. Benoit Frydman expounds the capital critique that Lenoble directs at Habermas: contrary to Habermas's claim, communication can never produce univocal agreement but remains marked by an irreducible pragmatic undecidability. This thesis fundamentally disrupts traditional legal understanding and requires rethinking the role of judges, the separation of powers, and the relationship between legislative deliberation and judicial application, as illustrated by the emergence of constitutional review through proportionality testing and the proliferation of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.