ABSTRACT
Technical solutions in general and technological management in particular appeal because of their promise to be more effective than rules, but the brute instrumentalism of technical measures demands that their use is conditioned by principles that give them legitimacy – otherwise there is no reason why regulatees should at least acquiesce in their use. The Rule of Law represents a compact between, on the one hand, lawmakers, law-enforcers, law-interpreters, and law-appliers, and on the other hand, the citizenry. In particular, the fact that regulators who employ technological management resort to a non-normative instrument does not mean that the compact is no longer relevant. To be sure, the context of regulation by technological management is very different to that of a normative legal environment, but the spirit and intent of the compact remains relevant. The importance of the Rule of Law in an era of technological management should not be understated.
