Legal Design as Means of Smart Regulation

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the exploration of possibilities of using legal design for smart regulation. Smart regulation aimed at obtaining the maximum effect by minimal means is connected to using a range of instruments, one of which is nudging. The nudge theory is used in behavioral economics; it is suggested to consider the peculiarities of human thought and behavior bearing in mind that in most cases humans behave irrationally, they are led by emotions, cognitive bias, they tend to follow the majority. It is suggested to form the choice architecture in such a way that a human would prefer the most sensible option while not losing the freedom of choice. An important element in forming the choice architecture is the availability of information, which provides effective communication. Availability and completeness of information provided by plain language let people fully comprehend the consequences of their actions. It is proven that comprehensibility can be achieved through legal design of documents, which implies applying different means of simplification of form and content to a legal document (a contract, a judicial act, a normative legal act). The means of simplification of form are structurization, visualization, using tables, diagrams, readable font, while the means of simplification of content is plain language of a document.
 Examples of requirements of the law to the structure and design of contracts that lead to financial obligations are listed in the article. The conclusion is drawn out that the means of legal design provide availability of information, which leads to using reflexive thinking, which implies realizing the consequences of one’s actions, making rational and informed decisions; all of it can be viewed as the aim of smart regulation.