Reasoning with conflicting normative demands takes the form of balancing. Balancing consists in determining a priority amongst conflicting arguments according to their weight. In law, such arguments are usually called “principles” in the sense of norms that can conflict with each other and figure as reasons for a particular result of the balancing of the competing principles. This core idea of balancing has, however, diverse interpretations. In particular, the conception of autonomous balancing contrasts with that of balancing as interpretation and that of balancing as calculation.