Il diritto e il caso: da Mannoni a Charpentier. Agli albori della predizione algoritmica

‘Casus’ is a singular and ambiguous term. This paper examines three of its principal semantic domains: causality, the factual matrix, and precedent. It seeks to explore key aspects of the complex relationship between law and casus, drawing on literary insights from the works of Octave Mannoni and Jacques Charpentier, who, as early as the 1950s, envisaged the use of machines in the administration of justice. These imaginative narratives help to elucidate the distinctive role assumed by precedent within our legal system, particularly in relation to the challenges posed by the use of predictive algorithms in judicial practice.