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The rule of law offers legal certainty, laying down boundaries to the state's playing field. The precautionary approach stipulates that the absence of scientific certainty is no reason not to act to prevent harm. Here, uncertainty frames action. The precautionary approach potentially expands the state's playing field, and this expansion might well undermine the precepts of the rule of law. The certainty‐uncertainty axis exposes a tension between the rule of law and the precautionary approach in what Ulrich Beck has termed the world risk society in second modernity. It is this tension that is the focus of analysis in this article.

The central notion of this article is that of “decision” as a means to shape one’s life and life biography. Decision is considered to be a prominent feature of contemporary society and the one through which we exercise our autonomy as a right to selfdetermination. Decisions, however, require information. In contemporary society, information is readily available but the effective use of that information often requires the help of others. Furthermore, as decisions transform into action again we often need others. These “others” must decide for themselves whether to help or assist us as an expression of their autonomy. These concepts of autonomy, decision, information and the other are key notions which we need to understand the role of self-determination in our society. We are accustomed to having legal frameworks which guide, facilitate and limit us in selecting information, making decisions and exercising self-determination. In this article the legal framework of euthanasia, as it exists in the Netherlands, is taken as a case study to illustrate the role of information with respect to the notion self-determination. This article explores how the abundance of information available to us in contemporary society has an impact upon the decisions we make and, more often than not, must make.

This article seeks to illustrate the relevance of social theory for the study and practice of law. As social theory reports on changes that influence societal structures, the question for lawyers is how these changes affect law and what this means for its role and function. To this end, the article draws on Ulrich Beck's theory of the risk society and reflexive modernization to provide the relevant perspective. This theory reports upon and explains the so-called side effects of modernization that take the shape of environmental, industrial and political risks. It is these side effects that constitute the problem in risk society and dealing with them demands a reflexive approach towards modernization. The article seeks to highlight the relevance of this theory for law by placing it in the tradition of social contacts theory. It does so by reformulating the central problem of the risk society and by identifying the main social actors who would be party to a "new" social contract. The article then identifies and formulates the instruments of negotiation, at which point it becomes clear what the role of law may be. It concludes with a tentative indication of what the main terms of the social contract could look like.