The concept of principle of reasonableness is used to refer to a criterion that allows regulating the exercise of rights . The notion refers to the need to ensure that logic and common sense prevail when applying the rules.
In the field of labor law , the principle of reasonableness helps to avoid abuses by workers and employers. For example: the law supports that an employer can fire an employee if he or she commits a fault, but it does not allow any type of fault to be taken as an excuse for the unilateral termination of the employment contract.
Faced with a conflictive situation, therefore, a judge must adhere to the principle of reasonableness and evaluate whether the employer abused its right by dismissing the worker or whether, on the other hand, the exercise of said right was reasonable .
Without the principle of reasonableness, a company owner could fire an employee he doesn't like by resorting to a meaningless argument, feeling protected by the law. The principle of reasonableness, on the other hand, prevents you from taking advantage of your power to make an arbitrary and unjust decision.
In a broader sense, the principle of reasonableness aims to ensure that all laws are consistent with the spirit of the national Constitution . In other words: the rules and regulations cannot contradict what is established by the Magna Carta.
Currently, the principle of reasonableness is defined as the result of extensive jurisprudence . It is applied in most Western societies, analyzing in each case the particularities that merit its invocation.
At this point it is necessary to make a clarification regarding the relationship that exists between the concept of the principle of reasonableness and that of proportionality , which are frequently confused. Although both have points in common, since they share the goal of fighting against arbitrary decisions to the detriment of an individual's rights (such as being an employee who is fired for no apparent reason), studied in detail it can be defined with certainty that they are not These are two synonyms.
In the United States, for example, the concept of the principle of proportionality does not seem to be sustained if we leave the field of Criminal Law, since there reasonableness has a much greater scope than in other countries when it comes to controlling public powers . starting from the correct application of the laws.
Despite this, there does seem to be a link between these two principles. This occurs because the concept of reasonableness includes in its definition that of proportionality, as a manifestation or consequence of it through which it is possible to determine whether a state act is the most appropriate from a legal point of view to achieve a specific goal .
With respect to the relationship that exists between the principle of reasonableness and the Constitution, experts assure that for Anglo-American culture the pillar on which its constitutional systems are supported is precisely reasonableness, understood in part as everything that can be considered reasonable. or common sense for anyone. Above we speak of an unfair dismissal as a measure that deviates from this principle, precisely because firing someone for arbitrary reasons does not seem reasonable to anyone, regardless of the twisted interests that lie in the background.
This brings us to the very birth of constitutionalism, which was not based on abstract issues far from the way of thinking of the people, but quite the opposite: laws seek to protect people by officially expressing what we all believe to be fair and reasonable, or at least what the system wants us to see that way.