Law I / Interpretation and Application
Practice question · Fill in the blanks

Complete the account of interpretation and application.

The criterion that reads a norm in the light of the social reality of the time of its application is the ______ criterion. A conflict between two valid norms both applicable to the same case is an ______. Article 4.1 of the Civil Code allows a gap to be filled by ______ where the same underlying reason is present. Article 120.3 of the Constitution requires judgments to be ______.

Word bank: sociological · antinomy · analogy · reasoned · teleological · equitable

Hints
  1. The first blank is the distinctively modern addition to the classical canons.
  2. The last blank is what makes a decision publicly criticisable.
Show the answer

The criterion that reads a norm in the light of the social reality of the time of its application is the sociological criterion. A conflict between two valid norms both applicable to the same case is an antinomy. Article 4.1 of the Civil Code allows a gap to be filled by analogy where the same underlying reason is present. Article 120.3 of the Constitution requires judgments to be reasoned.

Why

The last blank does more work than it looks. A decision that must be reasoned is a decision whose reasoning can be attacked on appeal, discussed in a journal and refused as a precedent. The duty to give reasons is what converts judicial power from an act of will into something answerable.

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