ABSTRACT
It is often said that the biggest challenge facing private law is that posed by the continual need to choose between certainty and justice. Certainty is a worthy goal, it is said, because everyone knows exactly where they stand and judicial decision-making can proceed from clearly articulated statements of legal principle. It also ensures that like cases are treated alike. The pursuit of certainty, however, can lead to anomalous outcomes and may not allow for sufficient differentiation between different circumstances. If pursued blindly, certainty can cause the law to ossify, making it appear stuck in a time warp and bearing no apparent connection to modern-day reality. Thus justice must step in to enable the law to achieve a fairer, more reasonable result – an interesting paradox since justice is usually portrayed as being administered blindfold!
