Analogical Methods in Legal Informatics

Abstract

The law occurs in a dual mode: a basic mode and an expert mode. In the basic mode, people predominantly experience the law in a situational and not a textual way. The people on the street move according to the consuetudinary law. In the expert mode, the law goes up textually to the professional lawyer. It becomes mostly about argumentation in professional language rather than natural language. Digitalisation encompasses both these modes. The extent to which digitalisation is visible is another issue. We argue that analogical thinking continues to be important in law and that this must be considered in legal informatics.