José Plug is senior researcher at the Department of Speech Communication, Argumentation Theory and Rhetoric of the University of Amsterdam and director of the Master's programme Dutch Language and Culture. She obtained her PhD doing interdisciplinary research on argumentation in legal decisions. In addition to legal argumentation, her research interests are political argumentation, the theory of debate and visual argumentation. Over the past few years she co-organised several conferences on Debate and on Legal argumentation. 

Teaching

José Plug teaches different courses in bachelor and master programmes of the faculty of Humanities of the University of Amsterdam. Until 2002 she was resercher and lecturer at the Law faculty of the Erasmus University of Rotterdam (EUR) and guest lecturer at the Law faculty of the University of the Netherlands Antilles (UNA), where she taught 'legal writing', 'legal argumentation analysis' and 'oral pleading'.

(2016) Legal argumentation and the rule of law

Modern legal systems are characterized by a tension between two commonplaces: the Rule of Law on the one hand, and the arguable character of law on the other. The Rule of Law calls for legal certainty, predictability and reasonableness; the argumentative character of law implies room for rational disagreement. In this book, expert scholars come together to offer interdisciplinary approaches to debate this tension and its possible reconciliation. Central in their perspective is that reconciliation is possible when the Rule of Law also incorporates rules for reason-giving. Reason-giving should be part of a substantive conception of the Rule of Law. Requiring that legal decision-makers give reasons furthers reasonable outcomes. The analysis of the ideal of rational argumentation and the ideal of the Rule of Law show how insights of two traditions are connected.

(2012) Gewogen oordelen. Essays over argumentatie en recht. Den Haag: Boom Juridische Uitgevers.

Het onderzoek naar juridische argumentatie is een typische interdisciplinaire activiteit waarbij de jurist in dialoog met de argumentatietheoreticus, de logicus, de psycholoog, de filosoof en de informaticaspecialist antwoorden formuleert op nieuwe vragen. Vragen over o.a. de legitimiteit van rechtspraak, het bewijs in strafzaken en de kwaliteit van wetgeving, kunnen zo vanuit verschillende perspectieven worden benaderd. Gewogen oordelen biedt een representatief beeld van het onderzoek naar juridische argumentatie in Nederland.

(2009) Argumentation and the Application of Legal Rules . Amsterdam: Rozenberg.

(with Feteris, E.T. and H. Kloosterhuis Eds.).

In modern legal systems there is a tension between the rule
of law and the arguable character of law. As a consequence
sound legal argumentation is crucial for the legitimacy of legal
decisions. Argumentation and the Application of Legal Rules is
a collection of essays on the role of argumentation inlegal
discourse. The essays discuss the use of interpretative
arguments, argumentation schemes, goal- and case bound
reasoning and strategic manoeuvring.

(2008)     Alles afwegende ... Bijdragen aan het vijfde symposium juridische argumentatie. Rotterdam 22 juni 2007 . Nijmegen: Ars Aequi Libri. (co-edited with E.T. Feteris, H. Kloosterhuis, J.A. Pontier)

(2004)     In het licht van deze overwegingen . Bijdragen aan het vierde symposium juridische argumentatie. Rotterdam 27 juni 2003. Nijmegen: Ars Aequi Libri. (co-edited with E.T. Feteris, H. Kloosterhuis and J.A. Pontier )

(2000)     Met Recht en Reden . Bijdragen aan het derde symposium juridische argumentatie. Rotterdam 18 juni 1999. Nijmegen: Ars Aequi Libri. (co-edited with E.T. Feteris, H. Kloosterhuis and J.A. Pontier )

(1997)    Op goede gronden . Bijdragen aan het tweede symposium juridische argumentatie. Rotterdam 14 juni 1996. Nijmegen: Ars Aequi Libri. (co-edited with E.T. Feteris, H. Kloosterhuis and J.A. Pontier).

(1994)   Met redenen omkleed . Bijdragen aan het symposium juridische argumentatie. Rotterdam 11 juni 1993. Nijmegen: Ars Aequi Libri. (co-edited with E.T. Feteris, H. Kloosterhuis, J.A. Pontier).