Legal realism

Legal realism challenges the idea that legal decisions follow mechanically from rules. It studies how judges assess facts, weigh policy consequences, use discretion, and respond to institutional and social pressures. American and Scandinavian realisms differ, but both redirect attention from abstract doctrine to law in action. In Swiss legal analysis, a realist lens is useful when examining judicial discretion, administrative practice, evidence, settlement behaviour, and the practical effects of multilingual and federal structures on the application of formally uniform norms.