Interpretation, Law and the Construction of Meaning

Legal semiotics emphasizes the contingency and fluidity of legal concepts and stresses the existence of overlapping, competing and coexisting legal discourses. In response to new problems, changing power structures, changing societal norms and new faces of injustice established doctrines are reconsidered, reformulated and partly replaced by competing doctrines and hypotheses. Given the relative indeterminacy of law, it is no surprise that the problem of interpretation has always been one of the focal points of attention for legal semiotics. Who has the power to define words and concepts? Who can successfully assume the power to speak on behalf of the legal community? Which methods are used to justify the power to define?

This book discusses the questions mentioned above from three, related perspectives:

-Legal theory (Part I).
-Judicial reasoning (Part II).
-Application of law in politics and diplomatic practice (Part III).

Challenges traditional approaches to legal interpretation Combines insights from analytical legal theory with legal semiotics Focuses on the application of law in a wide variety of contexts, including international politics and diplomatic practice

Inhalt
Legal Theory.- Law as Fact, Law as Fiction.- Lexical Indeterminacy.- Topical Jurisprudence.- Legal Speech Acts as Intersubjective Communicative Action.- Judicial Reasoning.- Who needs Fact when you've got Narrative? The Case of P,C&S vs. United Kingdom.- Taking Facts Seriously.- Transforming Ambiguity into Vagueness in Legal Interpretation.- Application of Law in Political Practice.- The Inclusive/Exclusive Nation.- Global Values and Floating Borders in the Brazilian Amazon.- Landmarks for Aboriginal Law in Australia.