The meaning(s) in law and language ; Pomen(i) v pravu in jeziku

Abstract

This paper revisits the delicate relation between law and language, with language inevitable serving as the vehicle of legal deliberations and pronouncements, and in particular their seemingly irreconcilable qualities: while law is predicated on the concept of the rule of law (or Rechtsstaat) which in turn calls for a clear and predictable system of norms ensuring equal treatment, language is often indeterminate or ambiguous, the meaning of words unclear or uncertain. Is language even properly equipped to perform the role asked of it by law? This question is addressed by outlining and analysing the path traversed from the open-ended vagueness of linguistic terms to the uncompromising confines of their legal interpretation, both in the course of adopting legislation and in particular in the course of adopting judicial pronouncements on the meaning of linguistic terms employed. ; Razprava se posveča občutljivemu razmerju med pravom in jezikom, v katerem jezik služi kot neizogibno orodje pravnih razprav in odločitev, ter še posebej njunim na videz nezdružljivim značilnostim: medtem ko pravo temelji na konceptu vladavine prava oziroma načela pravne države (Rechtsstaat), ki zahteva jasen in predvidljiv sistem norm za zagotavljanje enake obravnave, je jezik pogosto nedoločen ali nejasen. Je jezik sploh ustrezno opremljen za izvajanje vloge, ki mu jo namenja pravo? To vprašanje razprava obravnava z orisom in analizo poti od odprte nejasnosti jezikovnih izrazov do brezkompromisne zamejitve njihove pravne razlage, tako v postopku sprejemanja zakonodaje kot v postopku sprejemanja sodnih odločitev o pomenu uporabljenih izrazov