EUNOMÍA. Revista en Cultura de la Legalidad
Eunomía. Revista en Cultura de la Legalidad (Journal on Lawfulness) is a six-monthly interdisciplinary academic publication with international outreach that is disseminated electronically. It promotes a substantive theme that embraces a variety of social science and humanity disciplines, including legal, political, sociological and philosophical fields. Its topics address the legitimacy of law and obeying it, with special attention paid to developing the rule of law and consolidating democracy. The journal was awarded the FECYT seal of quality, in which is ranked in quartile 1 in Law, and is included in catalogues and databases such as SCOPUS, DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals), ERIH PLUS (European Reference Index for the Humanities and the Social Sciences), REDIB (Red Iberoamericana de Innovación y Conocimiento Científico—Ibero-American Network of Innovation and Scientific Knowledge), ISOC (social sciences and humanities database produced by the CSIC—Higher Council of Scientific Research), Latindex, Dialnet, MIAR, Ulrich’s Directory and RESH (Revistas Españolas de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades—Spanish Journals on Social Sciences and Humanities). It is also ranked Q3 in the area of Law and Gender Studies and Q4 in Public Administration and Social Sciences in Scimago. In terms of dissemination, the Journal reached almost 300,000 full-text downloads in the last three years (2020, 2021 and 2022). The submission process is permanently opened. 15 July 2025 is the deadline for submitting original articles opting to be published in issue No. 29 (November 2025– April 2026).
Eunomía. Revista en Cultura de la Legalidad is a duly registered journal, with EISSN 2253-6655. The articles published in Eunomía are –unless indicated otherwise– under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Spain license. You can copy, distribute and communicate them publicly as long as you cite their author and the journal and institution that publishes them and do not make derivative works with them. The full license can be consulted at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/es/deed.es
Copyright (c) 2026 EUNOMÍA. Revista en Cultura de la Legalidad http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/es/deed.es
Entre una filosofía de la educación y una filosofía del Derecho aplicada a la educación. Notas críticas sobre Educar para pensar. Del Emilio a la era digital, de Rodolfo Vázquez
This article offers a critical reading of Educar para pensar, Del Emilio a la era digital, the recent book by Rodolfo Vázquez –a leading figure in contemporary Latin American legal philosophy– placing it at the intersection between a philosophy of education and a philosophy of law applied to the educational sphere. Focusing on the sections devoted to Kant, Arendt, and Nussbaum, the article acknowledges the normative strength of the egalitarian liberal project that structures the work. However, it argues that several of its central theses remain at a largely prescriptive level, while their pedagogical and institutional translation is less fully developed. The article further questions whether liberalism, in its current formulation, is sufficient to address structural inequalities, technological transformations, and the contemporary crises facing the university.
Más allá del diálogo sobre la igualdad. Observaciones críticas sobre la diferencia y la desigualdad en Equality de Michael Sandel y Thomas Piketty
The review analyzes Equality: What It Means and Why It Matters, a dialogue between Thomas Piketty and Michael Sandel and derived from a prior academic conversation. The present text situates the contemporary discussion on equality beyond the slogan of «equality of opportunity», proposing three articulated dimensions: economic equality (income, wealth, and taxation); political equality (the effective capacity to influence collective decisions in the face of material asymmetries); and equality of dignity/respect/esteem (the social recognition of work and of persons). Drawing on classical debates–primary goods and distributive justice, as well as the turn toward capabilities–the review emphasizes that inequality is not natural but rather an institutional construction subject to democratic correction. The review concludes that merit, when imposed as a distributive criterion, erodes solidarity and the communal function of citizenship. Thus, the public agenda confronts the tension between the public ethics of just distribution and the common good, on the one hand, and the global efficiency of merit, on the other.
The form of the Law, the task of transposition, and European legitimacy. Review of Helen Xanthaki, Legislative Drafting for the EU. Transposition Techniques as a Roadmap for Better Legislation and a Sustainable EU
In Legislative Drafting for the EU: Transposition Techniques as a Roadmap for Better Legislation and a Sustainable EU, Helen Xanthaki examines the role of legislative drafting and transposition techniques in shaping the quality and effectiveness of European Union law. By linking clarity, precision and unambiguity to legislative effectiveness, the author presents drafting not merely as a technical exercise, but as a structural component of regulatory performance and the political sustainability of the European project. Her analysis establishes a connection between legislative quality, legal compliance and citizens’ trust, placing the form of the law at the centre of contemporary debates on institutional legitimacy. From this perspective, the book reopens broader discussions on the ‘legibility’ of law and its implications for the culture of legality, particularly in a context characterised by increasing regulatory complexity, communication deficits and institutional disaffection. The Spanish experience with the transposition of EU directives –notably the challenges surrounding the implementation of whistleblower protection rules– illustrates the practical tensions inherent in the reception of EU law and underscores the relevance of the author’s claims. Within this framework, the book provides a fertile ground for questioning both the potential and the limits of legislative drafting as a tool for democratic legitimation.
‘Reinventing’ EU legislation to revive the EU? Review of Helen Xanthaki, Legislative Drafting for the EU. Transposition Techniques as a Roadmap for Better Legislation and a Sustainable EU
Opaque use of AI or algorithms by public authorities violates the rule of Law
This article analyses the need to subject algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems used by public administrations to the same transparency standards as regulatory norms, since they materially fulfil the same function by predetermining decisions. Based on the landmark Supreme Court ruling of September 11, 2025, regarding the BOSCO case, the paper examines how this resolution dismantles traditional excuses for institutional opacity based on the protection of intellectual property and national security. It is argued that full access to the source code is an unavoidable requirement of the Rule of Law to combat the unacceptable "black box" effect. Furthermore, the inadequacies of the current regulatory framework, including the European AI Act (RIA), are evaluated, concluding that the only viable path to guarantee citizens' rights is to consolidate technological due process grounded in full algorithmic transparency.
Artificial intelligence and transformations in the traditional conception of work and employment. Risks, limits and responses
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is profoundly transforming the traditional conception of work and employment, generating far-reaching economic, legal, and ethical challenges. This article examines how AI alters the classical dimensions of work —what is done, by whom, for whom, how, and where— and how these changes may increase social inequalities, particularly among lower-skilled workers and older adults affected by the digital divide. The article proposes several responses, highlighting the need for continuous training, the reduction and redistribution of working time, and the exploration of mechanisms such as basic income or taxation on automation. Finally, it argues that certain spheres -especially care work- must remain tasks that only human beings can truly perform
The sociotechnical justification of egalitarian formulations of justice
The making of law through its establishment and application
The axiological foundations of Zygmunt Ziembiński's legal theory
The aim of the paper is to present the fundamental assumptions of Zygmunt Ziembiński’s axiology of law and, broadly speaking, his methodological approach. His approach can be described as analytical. The analytical foundations of Ziembiński's scientific approach can be identified on three levels. First, he attached great importance to conceptual analysis. Second, he took the particular legal sciences, especially civil law dogmatics, very seriously. Third, Zygmunt Ziembiński developed close cooperation with the philosophy of language, semiotics, and the philosophy of logic. As for the axiology of law, at the beginning of his research, he adopted a moderate cognitivist position, but later accepted that values exist objectively and are cognizable. Although Ziembiński belongs to the analytical camp, treating him as a legal positivist would go too far. Ziembiński clearly emphasized that the linguistic analysis of legal concepts does not preclude the formulation of axiological postulates concerning the content of law and the basis of its validity.
This review proposes the concept of affective perception of corruption (APC) in order to analyze how emotions aroused by political leaders can distort the evaluation of corrupt acts in contexts of growing populism. Integrating theory and empirical findings on perceptions of corruption, its politicization, charismatic and populist leadership, and affective polarization, it is argued that APC operates under a double standard: while it exacerbates the perception of corruption among political adversaries, it attenuates the perception among leaders with whom individuals sympathize. This highly emotional phenomenon is catalyzed by populist leaders, who instrumentalize anti-elite rhetoric and erode accountability mechanisms. A review of the literature shows that APC is not a cognitive error, but rather a structured mechanism in which political and emotional loyalties can override citizens' ethical judgments. Thus, the concept allows us to delve deeper into why corruption scandals do not always result in electoral punishment. The pooling of all the literature and the conceptualization of PAC adds a new dimension to understanding democratic fragility in the face of the affective instrumentalization of corruption.
The aim of this paper is to analyze the recent phenomenon of European disintegration. Since the creation of the European Union, the idea of an having a supranational organization to achieve cooperation between States has been present throughout the process of European integration. However, crises such as those linked to the massive arrival of asylum seekers in 2015 and Brexit, make it necessary to assess whether we are facing a process of European disintegration. T With this purpose in mind, the paper aims to examine the main contributions of academic literature to the concept of European disintegration; to analyze the work of various authors in order to establish a conceptual distinction between European disintegration and differentiated integration, suggesting attributes that may be considered as minimum necessary criteria in the case of the former; to present examples of how the aforementioned crises may constitute evidence of a disintegration process; and, finally, to explore the explanatory factors underlying this phenomenon.
Globalization has generated new challenges for political representation rooted in what Nancy Fraser has called a misframing of political communities (and subjects) in relation to the problems and injustices they suffer. However, an approach rigidly tied to the state framework still prevails. While this approach may have been adequate in the past, it appears to be disconnected from the globalized and interdependent world in which it operates today. This article presents and analyzes Fraser's concept of misframing and its theoretical and practical implications for contemporary democracies. Its ability to connect the theory of justice and the theory of democracy, assuming a transnational perspective, makes the concept of misframing a particularly useful tool for understanding and addressing some of the fundamental challenges we face today.
This paper offers an introduction to several contemporary debates on workplace democracy. It first traces the longstanding historical connection between democracy and labor since the emergence of capitalism and presents neoliberalism as a project aimed at de-democratizing the world of work. It then examines different variants of the workplace democracy paradigm and discusses two classical theses that continue to shape current debates on the issue: the “spillover thesis” and the “parallel case argument.” This paradigm is contrasted with more radical approaches that argue that democratizing social and economic structures is a necessary condition for democratizing work itself. Finally, the paper provides an overview of contemporary neo-republican approaches that explore the connection between democracy and labor through the concept of non-domination. Taken together, this overview offers an introductory conceptual framework for understanding the diverse approaches to workplace democracy and their relevance to contemporary political and theoretical debates.
Biocultural rights are the set of collective rights that indigenous peoples and local communities need to maintain –if they so wish– their custodial relationship with nature. This set of rights, necessary to enable them to have secure access to and use of their lands and waters, the possibility of conserving their cultural, linguistic and social practices, and the possibility of self-determining their local rules and institutions, has been conceived based on the interpretation of international environmental law and the jurisprudence of the Supreme Courts, as a set of rights with a dual foundation: protecting both the interests of indigenous peoples and local communities and those of nature. Therefore, they are materialized through two dimensions: as rights to the environment and as duties of protection towards the environment. This essay briefly describes the theoretical development of biocultural rights and analyses their legal foundations and the consequences of their being justified by two different sets of interests. This dual rationale will be critically analysed, paying attention to the consequences of being grounded in two sets of interest holders and drawing different conclusions for indigenous peoples –indigenous rights holders– and for local communities –who are not recognised under international law as holders of rights that are not directly related to the protection of nature or environmentally relevant practices
The externalisation of borders through cooperation agreements with third countries. Trends in the EU
This study analyzes the cooperation agreements, both soft law and hard law, stipulated within the framework of the externalization of borders policy implemented by the EU and its Member States over the last decade to block the massive migratory flows into Europe. More specifically, the study will focus on the response of Italy and Denmark, which have strengthened this strategy, becoming two leading examples, and on the EU model, which has acquired autonomy and its own distinct characteristics. The analysis of how this policy is evolving, its trends, and the persistent incompatibility with minimum protection standards aims to understand if it is possible to find ways to ensure that fundamental human rights are respected in these extraterritorial contexts.
The right to housing and the imposition of duties
This article argues that the right to adequate housing is a genuine right generating both negative and positive duties for public authorities and private actors. It begins by examining the constitutional and international framework that establishes the enforceability of the right to housing. It then addresses the theoretical relationship between rights and duties, contrasting the traditional formalist view with contemporary approaches that justify duties on basis of the rights. Next, the paper discusses the philosophical foundations of general positive duties to aid others and their specific relevance to housing. On that basis, the work analyses the concrete legal obligations (to respect, protect, and provide) tied to this right, and it cautions about the limits that must be observed when imposing duties so as not to undermine individual autonomy. In conclusion, the need to balance solidarity and freedom is underscored in order to effectively realize the right to housing.
The legal prohibition of wearing the Islamic veil in open public spaces in Spain and Europe. A generic ban or ad casum limitations?
This article determines whether the legal prohibition on wearing the Islamic veil in open public spaces is consistent with the Spanish Constitution, based on the dogmatic theory of fundamental rights. To this end, it analyzes existing trends in the comparative law and the responses to this issue from the Council of Europe bodies. It then describes the process by which these provisions have been enacted in Spain. Finally, it examines whether the constitutional aims that might hypothetically justify this ban pass the proportionality test. The main conclusion of this work is that the full-face veil can only be restricted for the purpose of safeguarding public safety in matters of personal identification. This argument does not apply to veils that do not cover the face of Muslim women, whose use must be considered free.
Judicial reform in Mexico (2024). Instrument of political capture or mechanism for institutional strengthening?
This study examines Mexico’s 2024 judicial reform with the aim of assessing whether it strengthened the independence and professionalism of the courts or, conversely, constituted a process of political subordination. To this end, it employs a qualitative normative-comparative and contextual methodology, analyzing the extent to which the new provisions align with or diverge from international standards of judicial governance. The central argument contends that the new institutional design should not be understood as a merely technical adjustment, but rather as part of a broader strategy of institutional reconfiguration under a populist regime. Within this framework, the reform is interpreted as a process of cooptation carried out through the ruling party’s intervention in five key dimensions of the justice system: appointment procedures, the disciplinary regime, judicial tenure, financial autonomy, and jurisdictional authority. This analysis allows the reform to be understood as a further example of how populist governments may use legal changes to consolidate political influence over the judiciary, posing significant challenges to the consolidation of the rule of law.
The legal nature of virtual property. Real right or personal right in the Metaverse?
This research examines whether virtual property constitutes a category of real property rights and develops its legal concept. Through doctrinal analysis and case studies (Decentraland and Sandbox), it demonstrates that virtual property lacks essential attributes of real rights such as absolute character, pursuit, inviolability, and perpetuity. Although tokenization through NFTs grants certain characteristics like exclusivity and enforceability, it fails to confer all attributes of real property. The study concludes that virtual property is not a category of real rights, but rather a personal right derived from usage or license contracts between the acquirer and the platform owner. We believe that contractual autonomy between platform owners and acquirers should be prioritized, while being subject to regulations that ensure a balanced negotiating position between the parties.
The access and effective incorporation of women in the Constitutional Court of Spain
The progressive evolution in the composition of the Constitutional Court has been most effectively reflected in its thirteenth (2021) and fourteenth (2022/2023) renewals, which have succeeded in consolidating gender parity among its members. This progress means leaving behind the sporadic and isolated appointments made in 1980, 1998, 2001, 2010/2011, 2012 and 2017, which did not yet respond to a systematic policy of equality. The current situation is the result of the regulatory instruments in force, especially those that promote effective equality of opportunity between women and men in the institutional sphere. This study examines, from a general perspective, the access and incorporation of judges to the Constitutional Court, based on the premise that legal mechanisms should not be introduced that condition the selection process exclusively based on gender. From there, it analyses the evolution of the different compositions of the Court, the successive renewals and the procedures for appointing its members, paying particular attention to the presence of women in the body, a presence that cannot be considered solely as a response to social demand, but as a requirement of justice, institutional dignity and democratic pluralism.
Between people’s will and the unity of the State. Hermann Heller, Arnold Köttgen, and the professional civil service in Weimar Germany
This article aims to contribute to the political-theoretical consideration of the professional civil service, drawing on the work of two significant jurists and state theorists from Weimar Germany: Hermann Heller and Arnold Köttgen. Their contrasting views are analysed regarding whether the administrative body should serve the popular will as expressed by the government, or whether it should instead serve the state as a unitary entity as defined institutionally. To this end, the main guidelines of the Weimar debate on the relationship between the will of the people and the state are revisited, with particular focus on Article 130 of the constitution, which regulated public service. The contributions of both authors are then examined, revealing the theoretical and political consequences of their positions. Finally, some conclusions are drawn about their relevance today
Visions of social justice from the theory of justification
The purpose of this paper is to reconstruct the possible definitions of social justice from the domestic, market, and civic worlds, from Boltanski's and Thévenot's theory of justification. Additionally, this article will analyze the definitions of social justice inherent in both welfare and post-welfare societies. The domestic world proposes a compromise with the industrial world, while the market world denounces social justice as oppressive to individual freedom. In the civic world, the general welfare of society is taken into account. In the Welfare State, social justice is linked to the norm, while in the post-welfare society, several definitions are in dispute.
Explain the crime and the punishment. The reasoning behind sentencing in juvenile justice
The text analyses the meaning of motivation in judicial decisions in juvenile justice, highlighting its role in transparency, legitimacy and the perception of justice. Generally speaking, the Spanish Constitution requires the motivation of sentences in order to guarantee their rationality. In juvenile justice, this motivation acquires an added value of a pedagogical nature, which can contribute to adolescents' understanding of punishment, the protection of legal assets implied by the criminalisation of a behaviour and, in short, to consolidating a culture of legality among those who have committed crimes. Given that minors are more impulsive and short-term thinkers, the way in which the decision is communicated to them is key to their acceptance of the decision and responsibility for the acts committed. Lack of clarity in communication can generate mistrust and a perception of injustice, conditioning their cooperation with the system. For this reason, the incorporation of a ‘children's perspective’ in the justice system is advocated, adapting language and procedures to this population group. In order to verify the state of the issue in practice, an exploratory study has been carried out of sentences from juvenile courts in different provinces. The aim is to try to identify methods to improve the understanding and acceptance of court decisions by minors.
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Without practice, a critical theory of human rights is of little and little use to anyone
This paper attempts to justify the centrality of the socio-material dimension of human rights, their relational practices and the set of actions that make them at each moment. They mark their content. Theories, what is said about human rights, the institutions that normatively objectify them and judicial sentences are a complement, always necessary, but insufficient. There are three blocks with which we attempt to demonstrate the centrality of the praxis of human rights and some ways to consolidate it: (a) highlighting the need to make visible and confront social and systemic inequalities, together with the power relations that sustain and consolidate them; (b) assuming that the individual and collective struggle for rights and their relational processes and practical actions are the origin and foundation of their recognition and development; and c) finally, based on the contributions of the German and Costa Rican thinker, Franz Hinkelammert, a difference is made between an ethics, with its rationality, functional to institutions and human productions, and another rationality with its ethics functional to the human being and to Nature, denominated «humanism of praxis».
Reticular and Pyramidal Approaches. Sovereignty and (de)Globalisation
This article presents a theoretical exploration of contemporary forms of state and extra-state sovereignty concerning normative phenomena during globalisation and de-globalisation. The research focuses on the network paradigm and the pyramid model, respectively, examining their ability to represent normative evolution and new methods of exercising power. It argues that the former, characterised by polycentrism and decentralisation of power, proves more effective in contexts of high global interdependence, while the latter, with its hierarchical and centralised structure, better illustrates de-globalised environments where nationalism and state monocentrism are resurging. This work concludes that both models are contextually pertinent, and their interplay can provide a more comprehensive understanding of today’s complex world, underscoring the need for universal legislation and jurisdiction to genuinely ensure peace and fundamental rights.
Self-reference pervades international law. Treaty-based regimes –the most robust forms of international authority– typically coexist, exhibiting patterns of legal pluralism. As self-referential constructs, special regimes operate as open subsystems of international law that manage the incorporation of other international rules and decisions. Their relative autonomy embodies the logic of intergovernmental functionalism. In the absence of general organs or procedures for their integration, this situation enables equally valid –yet potentially divergent– international legal perspectives. Despite harmonizing interpretations (i.e., so-called systemic integration) by treaty bodies, achieving a measure of consistency, or effectively balancing global public goods and values, remains a significant collective challenge. This is further illustrated by regulatory competition and arbitrage arising from treaty forms, underscoring the difficulties that the absence of general procedural integration poses for the modern rule of law.
The uses of referral Clauses in Positive Law
In a legal system, it is common to find provisions that refer to other normative bodies. These references are far from being univocal, as they are not limited to establishing a supplementary regime to facilitate the integration of the law in specific cases. This article aims to analyze the uses of a referral clause in the legislation and, additionally, to evaluate the theoretical-dogmatic problems it creates in determining the content of current law. The methodology applied is rational reconstruction and a critical review of the referral technique as a model for regulating conduct. The text proposes a taxonomy of these norms and examines their implications in identifying the law.