The Issue of Interpretation Priority. Law as System of Principles and Rules

Abstract

The central contentual characteristic of the legal principle is that it is a value measure directing the definition (creation) of legal rules as to their contents, the understanding of the rules, and the manner of their application. In relation to legal rules, the fundamental difference between the two categories is that the principles are operationalized and applied via legal rules. The principles (e. g. the principle of the state governed by the rule of law) influence the rules by being the starting point for the creation of general legal acts (e. g. statutes). Further, one relies on legal principles when interpreting the statutes and establishing which legal rules are contained within them in a more or less definite manner. And, last but not least, the principles guide one how to apply the rules. However definite the legal rules may be, they cannot foresee all factual circumstances in which they are applied. And the principle helps one to define in more detail what the content of the rule should be in view of the concrete factual circumstances. The interpretative significance of legal principles is highlighted by the example of constitutional, statutory and subordinate legal regulations. The relations between these three levels are well analysed by the theory of the hierarchical structure of the legal order. If this theory is supplemented and also understood with regard to the contents, its contribution is even more significant. It is of special importance that legal principles in the narrow and broad senses of the word are incorporated into all levels of the graduated legal order. It is achieved thereby that the implementation of a lower level from a higher one is a little more definite, yet it is not and cannot be so definite as to stifle creativity. The central importance of legal principles is to show the direction where one must go. If such direction is not available, one gets lost in the woods.