General Principles Of Interpretation Research Articles

The Methodology of Formal Interpretations of Judicial Decisions by the International Court of Justice

Abstract This article examines the International Court of Justice’s methodology in cases where it interprets its own decisions under the procedure in Article 60 of the Statute. The Court is constrained by respect for the res judicata of the previous decision. When interpreting the decision the Court and its judges strive to find the intention behind a decision, and emphasise elements that include wording, context, and object and purpose. A comparison with how the Court interprets treaties, resolutions from the United Nations Security Council, and unilateral declarations by States show that the instruments have important different but that their interpretation nonetheless have some basic similarities. On this basis it may be possible to formulate general principles of interpretation in international law.

A Review of Probabilistic Genotyping Systems: EuroForMix, DNAStatistX and STRmix™.

Probabilistic genotyping has become widespread. EuroForMix and DNAStatistX are both based upon maximum likelihood estimation using a γ model, whereas STRmix™ is a Bayesian approach that specifies prior distributions on the unknown model parameters. A general overview is provided of the historical development of probabilistic genotyping. Some general principles of interpretation are described, including: the application to investigative vs. evaluative reporting; detection of contamination events; inter and intra laboratory studies; numbers of contributors; proposition setting and validation of software and its performance. This is followed by details of the evolution, utility, practice and adoption of the software discussed.

Consumer Protection: The Interaction Between Written and Unwritten Law

The scope of consumer protection according to both written and unwritten law is assessed through an analysis of court decisions and decisions of the Consumer Complaints Board in Danish law with references to other Scandinavian law and to EU case law. The article analyses consumer protection in Scandinavian contract law according to general principles of interpretation and statutory law in the form of national legislation implementing Article 5 of Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms in consumer contracts. The so-called (larger) general clause of invalidity in the form of section 36 of the relevant national Contracts Acts is included as it greatly influences interpretation in Scandinavian contract law. The analysis involves a discussion of interpretation as a legal source in Scandinavian contract law, and a presentation of the Scandinavian consumer complaints board system with an emphasis on the Danish system. It is argued that the (traditional) general principles of interpretation in contract law play an important role as a supplement to written law in the aim of consumer protection, and that both courts and the Consumer Complaints Boards seem to operate with protection of consumers as a relevant underlying legal basis when interpreting consumer contracts. Both general rules of interpretation and the underlying legal basis (in the form of i.a. non-mandatory rules and customs) thereby seem to enhance consumer protection in Scandinavian contract law.

Tractarian S\xe4tze: Instructions for Use

The main question addressed by this article is this: How should one understand the role of the sentences of the Tractatus, given Wittgenstein’s statement that they are nonsensical? I begin with a presentation of three general principles of interpretation in order to avoid answering the question in an inappropriate way. I then move on to a short presentation and commentary on a selection of readings – namely, the ineffabilist, resolute and elucidatory ones – and elaborate the answers given by advocates of these to the question explored here. I agree on many points with resolute and elucidatory readings: the Tractatus presents an austere conception of nonsense, and is not a book that seeks to present ontological or semantic theories. I point out, however, that these readings cannot fully explain the nature of Tractarian elucidations. Then I discuss those parts of the Tractatus which refer to the sentences of the book itself. The main proposal of my own approach is this: Tractarian elucidations should be construed as rules of translation (definitions), in that they show how to substitute certain expressions for others. They enable us to construct a notation in which everything that is expressible in ordinary language can be said perspicuously.

Where to go: the floating arbitration agreement

Abstract The article examines questions concerning interpretation of commercial arbitration agreements, according to which the place of arbitration is ‘floating’ and hence cannot be finally determined at the time of contracting. The question is, primarily, whether this inherent uncertainty about material procedural rules ‘infects’ the jurisdictional allocation to such an extent that the arbitration agreement must be considered unenforceable and secondarily, whether the floating element in itself constitutes a sufficiently specific procedural rule. Against the background of an analysis of case law from USA, England, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and drawing on experiences from unilateral and bilateral option agreements, the article extracts general principles of interpretation as well as provides specific guidance on the drafting of floating arbitration agreements.

Commitment and states of mind with mood and modality

This paper develops an account of mood selection with attitude predicates in French. I start by examining the “contextual commitment” account of mood developed by Portner and Rubinstein (in: Chereches (ed) Proceedings of SALT 22, CLC Publications, Ithaca, NY, pp 461–487, 2012). A key innovation of Portner and Rubinstein’s (P&R’s) account is to treat mood selection as fundamentally depending on a relation between individuals’ attitudes and the predicate’s modal backgrounds. I raise challenges for P&R’s qualitative analysis of contextual commitment and explanations of mood selection. There are indicative-selecting predicates that are felicitous in contexts where there isn’t contextual commitment (in P&R’s sense); and there are subjunctive-selecting predicates that involve no less contextual commitment (in P&R’s sense) than certain indicative-selecting verbs. I develop an alternative account of verbal mood. The general approach, which I call a state-of-mind approach, is to analyze mood in terms of whether the formal relation between the predicate’s modal backgrounds and an overall state of mind represents a relation of commitment. Indicative mood in French presupposes that the informational-evaluative state determined by the predicate’s modal backgrounds is included in the informational-evaluative state characterizing the event described by the predicate. The account provides an improved explanation of core mood-selection puzzles, including subjunctive-selection with emotive factives, indicative-selection with fiction verbs, indicative-selection with espérer ‘hope’ versus subjunctive-selection with vouloir ‘want’, and indicative-selection with commissives versus subjunctive-selection with directives. Subjunctive-selection with modal adjectives is briefly considered. The mood-selection properties of the predicates are derived from the proposed analysis of mood, independently attested features of the predicates’ semantics, and general principles of interpretation.

Loans and Negative Interest Rates

Payments of interest amounts in floating rate loans are generally linked to specific reference parameters, such as EURIBOR. Given the decrease of such parameters to reference values around zero, what would happen if such a fall continued below this value (so that lenders have to pay interest amounts to borrowers)? General principles of interpretation of contracts, good faith and equity, jointly with an analysis of nature / characteristics of loan contracts could help to find a solution being the most transnational possible. In particular, reference could be made to: (i) an interpretation of the loan contract by which such contract cannot betray its nature (and interest payments are necessary in non-gratuitous loans); (ii) the equity principle, under which contracts have to be reasonable / fair (and lenders should receive back by borrowers at least the capital amount); (iii) the nature of loans as contracts necessarily requiring interest payments by borrowers.

Estudios sistemático-hermenéuticos sobre el Vaticano II: Tres aportes relevantes en el período posconciliar

The studies on the Vatican II focus in three areas that are closely linked: historical research, systematic studies in which particular emphasis is placed on the hermeneutic perspective, and research that lays emphasis on the multiple processes of reception in the regional contexts. This article deals only with the systematic aspect, taking into account three relevant contributions that marked the debate particularly around the eighties of the last century. These studies favored a qualitative leap in the hermeneutic understanding of the Council. Firstly, the interpretation of Karl Rahner on a worldwide church. Secondly, the formulation of general principles of interpretation by the 1985 Synod. And finally, the specific hermeneutical criteria elaborated by Giuseppe Alberigo after the idea of Vatican II as an event that inspired the most relevant and detailed historical research of the nineties. The hermenutical work produced during the beginning of our century has built on the foundations laid down by the three contributions discussed in this article.

La interpretación constitucional y las sentencias del Tribunal Constitucional : de la interpretación evolutiva a la mutación constitucional

En la hermenéutica constitucional, además de los criterios tradicionales de interpretación, se requieren conocimientos técnicos muy elevados, y también un alto grado de sensibilidad jurídica, política y social para poder penetrar en el sentido de las disposiciones constitucionales. La interpretación constitucional debe de tener por objeto determinar la vivencia real de la norma fundamental, vivencia que explica la actualización de la misma al confrontar una cultura a la que los intérpretes nunca pueden ser ajenos por el mero hecho de que forman de esa sociedad, pero la actividad interpretativa está sujeta a la propia Constitución, y no puede, ni mutarla, ni destruirla.In constitutional hermeneutics, as well as the General principles of interpretation, very high technical expertise, and also a high degree of legal, political and social sensitivity are required to be able to penetrate into the meaning of constitutional provisions. Constitutional interpretation should be aimed at determining the real experience of the fundamental norm, experience which explains the same update to confront a culture to which performers can never be outside by the mere fact that they are creatures of that society, but the interpretive activity is subject to the Constitution, and cannot, mutate it or destroy it.

Oral and maxillofacial diagnostic imaging : Farman AG, Nortje CJ, Wood RE (eds), with 10 contributors. St Louis, MO, Mosby, 1993, 448 pages, 972 illustrations

A diagnostic atlas of imaging in the oral and maxillofacial region that correlates findings to specific disease. The book starts with the basics of imaging, relates images to line drawings to reveal general catagories of disease and dysfunction, and matches radiographs to disease. The work introduces the general principles of interpretation, following with a quick reference section that catagorizes radiographic signs to help clarify diagnostic thinking. The layout consists of two facing pages per disease with a brief overview of the disorder on the left-hand page and the image (and clinical photos where applicable) on the right-hand page.

The Hermeneutics: Outline of the 1819 Lectures

1. [We speak of] only the art of understanding, not the exposition of the understanding.2 The latter would only be a specialized part of the art of speaking and writing that could only be dependent on the general principles of hermeneutics. 2. This refers as well to difficult points in foreign-language texts. In reading them, one more often presumes familiarity with the subject matter and the language. When one is familiar with both, the distinction between them becomes difficult to make because one has perhaps not understood properly the more apparent. Only an artistic understanding consistently grasps the discourse [Reden] of a text [Schrift].3 3. Usually one supposes that one could rely on a healthy knowledge of human nature for formulating the general principles of interpretation. But then there is the danger that one would also tend to rely on a healthy feeling about the exceptional qualities of a text in determining what they meant.