THE CONSIDERATION OF CHRONOTYPE AND SOCIAL JET LAG IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEGAL NORMS AND JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Abstract

This study investigated the consideration, or lack thereof, of the concepts of chronotype and social jet lag in legal norms and judicial decisions worldwide, aiming to test the hypothesis that, so far, the law has paid little attention to this aspect of human diversity and the harmful effects that arise when individuals live out of synchrony with their chronotype. The research addresses the existing gap in the legal field regarding chronotypes and social jet lag, despite substantial evidence in medical literature. Using the vLex tool, a search was conducted involving "legislation," "jurisprudence," "administrative decisions," and "official gazettes" in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, and Russian, with the terms "chronotype" and "social jet lag." The results revealed only half a dozen instances where these concepts were mentioned, with few cases in which they were effectively recognized for norm formulation or as grounds for judicial decisions. These findings suggest that, despite the robustness of medical and scientific literature on the phenomenon of social jet lag caused by the misalignment between social clocks and individual chronotypes, there is virtually no legal consideration of these phenomena anywhere in the world.