The interpretation of the law in modern jurisprudence is of great importance. After all, this helps to understand the diversity of standards not only for citizens of the state, but also to better understand the essence of law-making activity for professional lawyers. And in order to forever put the information “on the shelves” in the head, you need to know a clear definition of the interpretation of the law, its types, types, methods and meaning, which is very important!
About the object and subject
In the legal sense, normative legal acts always serve as an object of interpretation. In other words, their combination or a single rule of law. Since the theory of state and law is a very complex and multifaceted science, the reader needs to pay attention to such an element as the subject of interpretation of law, in the role of which is the mental activity and the will of the legislator. It is the intellectual message that should be reflected in the legal norm and be subject to detailed interpretation.
Concept and structural elements.
Interpretation of the laws of the Russian Federation is the activity of subjects of law of an intellectual-volitional nature, which is aimed, first of all, at understanding the meaning of the subject, and then, clarifying the rule of law to other persons. An obligatory sign of interpretation is the publication of a special legal act.
So, based on the above definition, it is worth noting the main elements:
- Clarification. This is a mental activity that does not go beyond the consciousness of one subject (interpreter).
- Explanation. It is a consequence of the clarification, the meaning of which lies in a more detailed explanation of the meaning of the will and the legislator’s message to other legal entities, that is, it is expressed in the usual explanation of the meaning of the norm based on the conclusions of the interpreting person.
Thus, the process of interpreting the law is aimed at creating an internal understanding, and in the subsequent - a detailed explanation of the will of the legislator. It is important to remember that the action in question necessarily consists of two elements. The meaning of the interpretation of criminal law, civil law, administrative sphere, as well as other industries is a qualitative result, which is possible only after deep understanding and reflection, and then a detailed explanation.
On methods of understanding the legislation: general characteristics and types
Not every legal professional can interpret the law, let alone citizens who have not encountered the field of law. The narrow focus and specifics of the activity give rise to numerous errors and inaccuracies in explaining the meaning of the law. That is why there are so many legal errors in the world.
However, professional interpretation practitioners and mastodons of the scientific world created interpretative techniques that are used to clarify the meaning of the norm. These include philological, systematic, as well as logical and historical. The listed “schemes” are the most commonly used ways of interpreting the norms of the law.
Philology and Grammar: Russian-language clarification of norms
The first and most understandable among the types of interpretation of the law is the philological method, which also bears the second name - grammatical. It involves clarifying the will of the legislator by studying the internal structure of the word, its structure, as well as the parsing of the sentence. First of all, a competent person performs an internal analysis of a word or phrase, and then the dependence of phrases on each other is determined, the main and secondary members of the sentence are highlighted, special attention is paid to the endings and multiplicity.
In the philological analysis of the article of the law, it is important to take into account the legal specificity. That is why experts emphasize the use of conjunctions (connecting and separate), as well as analyze in detail the forms of verbs and participles. Here it’s just right to give examples with the phrase “execute-pardon,” where the comma around the word “cannot” defines the meaning.
Interconnection and system
The interpretation of the law is a complex and multifaceted process. When issuing a norm or letter of a normative act, the legislator must observe the principle of consistency. This is the only way to determine the relationship with other articles and regulations.
A systematic type of interpretation determines the analysis of the phrase of the legislator only in conjunction with other norms. So, not only the structure of a separate document, but the entire legal base is taken into account. For example, the meaning of the article defining criminal liability for grievous bodily harm as a result of a traffic accident is understood only after studying traffic rules. And this is a separate administrative document.
A systematic interpretation of federal law, by-laws is possible by referring to one of the topics of the theory of state and law, devoted to reference and blanket norms. In addition, there is an analysis of general and special provisions where exclusively the latter have legal force.
A striking example is art. 80 of the Family Code, which defines the obligation of parents on the material maintenance of children. However, Art. 120 of this law provides an exception to this rule. So, Art. 80 does not apply if minors become fully capable, for example, when they marry or marry a child.
Logic is the foundation of the basics
The types of interpretation of the law discussed earlier are very understandable, since they involve the use of specific techniques and methods. For example, philologists are well versed in the sections of grammar, and lawyers are aware of the norms. Against this background, a logical way of interpreting law is clearly distinguished, which involves the use of philosophical and scientific methods to understand the meaning of the letter of the law.
It is very difficult to find competent specialists in this field. Judge for yourself whether you understand the meaning of such techniques as logical transformation, synthesis, analysis, inference, analogy, bringing to absurdity, and so on. As a rule, philosophers, as well as scientists, who are obliged to indicate the methods used in their work, are the aces in the logical interpretation.
Pay attention to the story!
The concept and interpretation of the law is carried out not only in the moment “here and now”. So, the historical method includes the conversion and analysis of the prerequisites for the emergence of the norm. The interpreter without fail studies the historical conditions, as a result of which one or another norm was published.
The other side of the historical interpretation is the need to search for a draft normative act, search for explanatory notes, transcripts, as well as discussions in the media.
Interpretation types: official information
Along with the methods, there are also several categories of clarification and clarification of meaning. The concept and interpretation of the law may be official. This means that the clarification of the norms is given by authorized representatives of state bodies. Information is published in official sources.
The official interpretation is divided into two types:
In the first case, there is no specific case or situation. The normative interpretation is a typical model of behavior that applies to all social relations regulated by the norm or the law. This type of interpretation does not provide new standards, only a brief and understandable explanation of the existing ones.
About differences
The fundamental difference between the casual interpretation is the analysis of a single case that has occurred in practice. If in the normative form only the model created by the legislator is analyzed on paper, then in the second form the situational social relations are analyzed. The purpose of the casual interpretation is to analyze the situation in order to prevent future errors, as well as the correct and fair resolution of the controversial problem. As a rule, this is necessary with the participation of two individuals, less often with interaction with administrative authorities.
The normative and casual interpretation of the law by the court is the most common, for example, in the publication of the Plenum Resolutions.
Who is what? What an unofficial explanation of the letter of the law
In the types considered earlier, the explanation is official and mandatory. In addition, in the legal world there is such a kind of interpretation as unofficial. Such an explanation is not mandatory; it can be expressed both in the form of oral speech and in the form of a written document. Vivid examples are the explanations provided by lawyers, judges, prosecutors during the consultation of citizens. The informal interpretation, in turn, is also divided into several subspecies:
- Professional - can only be provided by persons with special legal training: lawyers, prosecutors, government officials, legal advisers.
- The ordinary - is given by ordinary citizens, as a rule, is based on a personal point of view and depends on the worldview.
- Doctrinal - contains the arguments of scientists. It is expressed in articles, monographs, books, textbooks, brochures and so on.
Legislation Levels
Along with the types and methods of interpretation of the law, there is such a category as the types of similar activities. They completely coincide with the types of official explanations (normative and casual). However, they differ in the level of legal regulation.
Thus, explanations of the Higher Courts (Supreme and Constitutional) are referred to the normative interpretation. Explanatory documents do not have legal force, however, are binding on all subordinate bodies.
Casual interpretation is carried out exclusively by subordinate courts or other administrative bodies in certain cases.
The meaning of the interpretation of law
The activity under consideration permeates jurisprudence not only in the Russian Federation, but also in almost every country in the world. Of paramount importance to the published norm is the interpretation of laws. The concept, types and types of such activities are defined in order to systematize the clarification of law, as well as to ensure a common understanding of the will of the legislator.
The need for continuous interpretation is as follows:
- The possibility of applying the established norm in life, as well as determining the possibility of its use in specific situations.
- A detailed explanation of scientific terms, concepts, definitions and provisions for citizens who do not have special legal knowledge and training.
- Often ignorance of logical and grammatical techniques leads to the ambiguity of the norm, its ambiguity and uncertainty. The interpretation is intended to eradicate such cases.
- The will of the legislator, reflected in the legal norm, does not always coincide with the textual meaning of the law. So, bringing the regulations to a “common denominator”, as well as analyzing general and special provisions, identifying possible contradictions is possible only through competent clarification and clarification of legislation.
Along with the foregoing, it is worth noting that interpretation activities act as one of the means of legal education of citizens, raise the level of education and legal culture, and also make it necessary to conduct in-depth analysis not only by persons who have fallen into a particular situation, but also by law enforcement officials .