Permanent legislation is equally uncertain---sunsets increase clarity.
Sofia Ranchordás 14, a full professor of public law and a Rosalind Franklin fellow at the Faculty of Law of the University of Groningen and she is also an affiliated fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School, 2-11-2014; Statute Law Review, "Sunset Clauses and Experimental Regulations: Blessing or Curse for Legal Certainty?," https://academic.oup.com/slr/article/36/1/28/1614369 //AS
First, the uncertainty allegedly caused by sunset clauses is merely potential, since sunset clauses do not introduce more uncertainty in the legal order than permanent legislation does.71 In the case of permanent legislation, the legislature can at any time amend existing laws, as long as a sufficient parliamentary support is gathered. This argument is even acknowledged by sceptics of sunset clauses in the United States who agree that ‘permanent legislation [only] creates a certainty illusion, whereby taxpayers are not mindful of the frequent changes of legislation’.72 In addition, no previous warning as to the intention of the legislator to revise laws shall be given, so this ‘surprise effect’ can in abstract interfere with the principle of legal certainty.73 In the case of sunset clauses, sudden amendments before the sunset date are not expected. Any changes or revisions will exclusively be accepted on extraordinary grounds.74 Sunset clauses, if correctly implemented, can provide a greater continuity guarantee and time framework on which citizens can rely.75 In this light, the principle of legal certainty is not endangered but rather furthered by sunset clauses, since the latter can function as an impediment for abrupt and unjustified changes before the sunset occurs.