The law is a good thing (psychology is,too)

Psycholegal studies have been hampered by the lack of a theory to guide the choice of topics for research. Both judicial decision making and psychological research would be enhanced by emphasis on subjective experience in determining the scope of fundamental rights and fostering a legal system consonant with human dignity and responsive to social reality. International human rights law is presented as an example of the feasibility and utility of psychological jurisprudence. This article is based on a presidential address to the American Psychology-Law Society at the meeting of the American Psychological Association in August 1991, in San Francisco.