On Cognitive Bias in the Legal Norm Interpretation in Relation to Linguistic Expertise

Abstract

In the modern rule-making process conduction of several types of expertise is one of the significant and sometimes even mandatory stages of work on a draft law. In the subject of the Russian Federation, a city of federal significance – Sevastopol there is legal, anti-corruption, linguistic and legal-technical expertise carried out. Although the tasks assigned to legal experts and linguists are outlined both in the methodological recommendations of federal authorities and in the scientific-applied discourse, in practice the boundaries of these tasks are blurred. This article focuses on some theoretical and applied questions of linguistic expertise, the case study under discussion demonstrates the interrelation of linguistic expertise with other spheres of expertise and academic work; attention is drawn to the discussion on the boundaries of linguist’s competence and the tasks assigned to the subjects of linguistic expertise. The case-study of the legal norm of the Low of Sevastopol City 98-ZS, dated 26 Dec. 2014, «On some social support measures for multi-child families in Sevastopol» discusses a non-routine problem of the rule of law structure fault that causes cognitive bias in its interpretation. The conclusion summarizes the results of this research, raising some pressing questions, attention to which could contribute to improving the drafting law process, in particular within linguistic expertise.