Abstract
AbstractThe impact of ‘bad’ science on judicial decision-making is a thorny aspect of the relationship between science and law. This study employs doctrinal and empirical analysis to explore two Italian judgments that asserted a causal link between childhood vaccines and autism. Using a combination of actor–network theory and legal pragmatism, we uncovered a network of actors and institutions internal and external to the legal system enabling these impactful decisions that went on to contribute to a crisis in vaccination coverage in Italy. These include trial strategies, resources, communication practices between arms of government, awareness and responsiveness of institutional actors, and institutional mechanisms governing the integration of scientific expertise into the legal process. By forensically analysing how a ‘zombie idea’ received a patent of legitimacy in the Italian context, this study provides useful lessons for legal systems grappling with complex and contested public health matters.
Highlights
The relationship between science and law has generated long-lasting dilemmas in scholarship
This paper explores two controversial Italian judgments using a combination of actor–network theory (ANT) and legal pragmatism, revealing a network of actors contributing to a particular unfolding of events
Because this study focuses on complex interactions between discrete actors, it can provide useful lessons for legal systems grappling with contested public health matters
Summary
The relationship between science and law has generated long-lasting dilemmas in scholarship. The impact of ‘bad’ science on judicial decision-making remains a thorny subject. This paper explores two controversial Italian judgments using a combination of actor–network theory (ANT) and legal pragmatism, revealing a network of actors contributing to a particular unfolding of events. In 2017, the Italian parliament legislated to make ten childhood vaccines mandatory.. In 2017, the Italian parliament legislated to make ten childhood vaccines mandatory.1 This measure followed a drop in immunisation rates over the preceding years. Two judicial decisions – from the Tribunals of Rimini in 2012 and Milan in 20142 – punctuated this negative trend. In both judgments, courts sanctioned the existence of a causal link between childhood vaccines and autism
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