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............................................................................................................................DescriptionThis book presents a comprehensive theory of legal interpretation, by a leading judge and legal theorist. Currently, legal philosophers and jurists apply different theories of interpretation to constitutions, statutes, rules, wills, and contracts. Aharon Barak argues that an alternative approach—purposive interpretation—allows jurists and scholars to approach all legal texts in a similar manner while remaining sensitive to the important differences. Moreover, regardless of whether purposive interpretation amounts to a unifying theory, it would still be superior to other methods of interpretation in tackling each kind of text separately.Barak explains purposive interpretation as follows: All legal interpretation must start by establishing a range of semantic meanings for a given text, from which the legal meaning is then drawn. In purposive interpretation, the text's "purpose" is the criterion for establishing which of the semantic meanings yields the legal meaning. Establishing the ultimate purpose—and thus the legal meaning depends on the relationship between the subjective and objective purposes; that is, between the original intent of the text's author and the intent of a reasonable author and of the legal system at the time of interpretation. This is easy to establish when the subjective and objective purposes coincide. But when they don't, the relative weight given to each purpose depends on the nature of the text. For example, subjective purpose is given substantial weight in interpreting a will; objective purpose, in interpreting a constitution.Barak develops this theory with masterful scholarship and close attention to its practical application. Throughout, he contrasts his approach with that of textualists and neotextualists such as Antonin Scalia, pragmatists such as Richard Posner, and legal philosophers such as Ronald Dworkin. This book represents a profoundly important contribution to legal scholarship and a major alternative to interpretive approaches advanced by other leading figures in the judicial world...........................................................................................................................ContentsPart One - InterpretationChapter 1 - What Is Legal Interpretation?1. Definition of Legal Interpretation2. The Limits of Interpretation3. Basic Problems in Interpretation4. Systems of Interpretation in Law5. Advantages and Disadvantages of Interpretive Rules6. The Status and Sources of Interpretive Rules7. Laws of Interpretation, Jurisprudence, and General HermeneuticsChapter 2 - Non-Interpretive Doctrines1. The Essence of Non-Interpretive Doctrines2. Filling in a Gap in a Legal Text3. Resolving Contradictions Normatively4. Correcting Mistakes in the Language of a Text5. Deviating from the Language of the Text to Avoid Absurdity6. CyPres Performance7. From Interpretive Theory to Purposive InterpretationPart Two - Purposive InterpretationChapter 3 - The Essence of Purposive Interpretation1. "Purposive Interpretation3': Terminology2. Fundamentals of Purposive InterpretationChapter 4 - The Semantic Component of Purposive Interpretation1. Interpretive Theory and Semantic Theory2. Types of Language3. Canons of InterpretationChapter 5 - The Purposive Component of Purposive Interpretation1. The Essence of Purpose2. Multiple PurposesChapter 6 - Subjective Purpose: Authorial Intent1. The Essence of Subjective Purpose2. Abstract Purpose and Concrete Purpose3. Subjective Purpose and the Problem of Multiple Authors4. Sources of Subjective Purpose5. Subjective Purpose as a Presumption about the Text's PurposeChapter 7 - Objective Purpose: Intent of the Reasonable Author; Intent of the System1. The Essence of Objective Purpose2. Sources of Objective Purpose: Internal and External3. Presumptions of Objective Purpose4. Contradictions between Purposive PresumptionsChapter 8 - The Purposive Component: Ultimate Purpose1. The Weight of Subjective and Objective Purpose in Determining Ultimate Purpose2. Type of Text: Will, Contract, Statute, and Constitution3. Type of Text: The Effect of a Text's Age on Its Ultimate Purpose4. Type of Text: Distinguishing Texts by Scope of Issues Regulated5. Type of Text: Changes in Regime Character and Society's Fundamental Assumptions6. Type of Text: Texts Based on Rules and Texts Based on Standards7. Type of Text: Content of the Provision8. The Effect of Type of Text on Ultimate Purpose9. Formulating Ultimate PurposeChapter 9 - Discretion as a Component in Purposive Interpretation1. The Essence of Judicial Discretion2. Situations of Judicial DiscretionChapter 10 - The Theoretical Basis for Purposive Interpretation1. The Need to Justify a System of Interpretation2. Social Support for Purposive Interpretation3. Jurisprudential Support for Purposive Interpretation4. Hermeneutic Considerations in Favor of Purposive Interpretation5. Constitutional Considerations in Favor of Purposive InterpretationChapter 11 - Purposive Interpretation and Its Critique of Other Systems of Interpretation1. Purposive Interpretation and Subjective Systems of Interpretation2. Purposive Interpretation and Objective Systems of Interpretation: Textualism, "Old" and "New"3. Purposive Interpretation and Pragmatism4. Purposive Interpretation and Dworkin's System of Interpretation5. Purposive Interpretation and Free Interpretation6. Critique of Purposive Interpretation and Some ResponsesPart Three - Interpretation In LawChapter 12 - The Interpretation of Wills1. The Uniqueness of a Will and How It Affects Interpretation2. The Language of a Will3. The Purpose of a WillChapter 13 - The Interpretation of Contracts1. The Uniqueness of a Contract and How It Affects Interpretation2. Contract Theory and Contractual Interpretation3. The Purpose of a Contract4. The Subjective Purpose of a Contract5. Sources of Subjective Purpose6. The Objective Purpose of a Contract7. Presumptions for Identifying Objective Purpose8. The Ultimate Purpose of a ContractChapter 14 - Statutory Interpretation1. The Uniqueness of a Statute and How It Affects Interpretation2. The Subjective Purpose of a Statute3. Subjective Purpose Learned from the Language of a Statute4. Subjective Purpose Learned from Sources External to the Statute: Legislative History5. The Objective Purpose of a Statute6. Sources of Objective Purpose7. Presumptions of Objective Purpose8. The Ultimate Purpose of a StatuteChapter 15 - Constitutional Interpretation1. The Uniqueness of a Constitution and How It Affects Interpretation2. The Language of a Constitution3. The Subjective Purpose of a Constitution4. The Objective Purpose of a Constitution5. Sources of Objective Purpose6. The Ultimate Purpose of a ConstitutionAppendix 1. The Structure of Legal InterpretationAppendix 2. Purposive InterpretationAppendix 3. Weighting Subjective and Objective PurposesIndex............................................................................................................................Author DetailsAharon Barak is President of the Supreme Court of Israel. He is the author of Judicial Discretion (Yale), numerous articles in English-language law journals, and several books in Hebrew.............................................................................................................................
