Legal Definitions - sortitio

Sortitio refers to the process of selecting individuals or making decisions through the drawing of lots or other methods of random chance.

This method is often employed to ensure impartiality, fairness, or to avoid bias in situations where a choice must be made among several options or candidates.

• Example 1: A local government agency receives far more applications for a limited number of community garden plots than are available. To ensure an equitable distribution, the agency decides to conduct a public drawing, where each applicant's name is entered into a lottery. The names drawn are then awarded the plots.

  Explanation: This illustrates sortitio because the selection of who receives a garden plot is determined entirely by random chance, through the drawing of names, rather than by subjective criteria or first-come, first-served.

• Example 2: In ancient Athens, many public officials, including members of the Council of 500 (Boule), were chosen by lot from eligible citizens. This was done to prevent corruption, ensure broad participation, and distribute political power more evenly among the populace.

  Explanation: Here, sortitio was a fundamental democratic principle, where individuals were randomly selected to hold significant governmental positions, emphasizing civic duty and preventing the concentration of power in a few hands.

• Example 3: A university department needs to select three faculty members to serve on a new curriculum development committee. To avoid any perception of favoritism or undue influence, the department head places the names of all eligible faculty into a hat and draws three names at random.

  Explanation: This scenario demonstrates sortitio as the method for selecting committee members. The random drawing ensures that the selection is impartial and that all eligible faculty members had an equal chance of being chosen.