Statutory Interpretation: Pragmatics and Argumentation [Hardback]

"The English word "interpretation" comes from Latin interpretatio, from interpres, originally meaning an intermediary, broker, or agent, and then also an explainer or translator (De Vaan 2008, 307). In its turn interpres seems to have resulted from the fusion of inter (between) and praes, a word that possibly shares the same root with the Latin pretium (price), thus being linked to the idea of an economic exchange (lending, buying, or selling). The semantic area of "interpretation" is also covered by terms of Greek origin, such as "exegesis" and "hermeneutics," often used in religious contexts. In Latin, intepretatio was used normally as a synonym for translation (McElduff 2009), considered both as transposing a text into a different language and as explaining the meaning of a text to one who does not understand it (Cicero De Legibus, 1.14.9). However, interpretatio was also used in a broader sense, for referring to the activity of interpreting "laws, dreams and omens as well as languages, though the notion of transferring information of one sort or another from person to person or from god to person is always key to its usage" (McElduff 2009, 136). In the medieval dialectical tradition, and in particular in Abelard, interpretatio was a technical term. It was used for the activity of explaining the meaning of a word completely unknown, such as (normally) a foreign word (Abaelardus Dialectica, 583-584), in particular, by reference to word's etymology, or to the analysis of its component morphemes (Abaelardus Dialectica, 340)"--

Drawing on linguistics, legal theory, computing, and dialectics, this book analyzes statutory interpretation in terms of arguments used in everyday reasoning. The authors illustrate complex, crucial legal cases with diagrams and summarize them in schemes, making the methodology accessible to scholars, professionals, and students across disciplines.

Statutory interpretation involves the reconstruction of the meaning of a legal statement when it cannot be considered as accepted or granted. This phenomenon needs to be considered not only from the legal and linguistic perspective, but also from the argumentative one - which focuses on the strategies for defending a controversial or doubtful viewpoint. This book draws upon linguistics, legal theory, computing, and dialectics to present an argumentation-based approach to statutory interpretation. By translating and summarizing the existing legal interpretative canons into eleven patterns of natural arguments - called argumentation schemes - the authors offer a system of argumentation strategies for developing, defending, assessing, and attacking an interpretation. Illustrated through major cases from both common and civil law, this methodology is summarized in diagrams and maps for application to computer sciences. These visuals help make the structures, strategies, and vulnerabilities of legal reasoning accessible to both legal professionals and laypeople.