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    On the Interpretability of Law: Lessons from the Decoding of National Constitutions

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    Melton, Elkins, Ginsburg, and Leetaru - On the Interpretability of Law (197.8Kb)
    Date
    2012-10-09
    Author
    Melton, James
    Elkins, Zachary
    Ginsburg, Tom
    Leetaru, Kalev
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    Abstract
    An implicit element of many theories of constitutional enforcement is the degree to which those subject to constitutional law can agree on what its provisions mean (call this constitutional interpretability). Unfortunately, there is little evidence on baseline levels of constitutional interpretability or the variance therein. This article seeks to fill this gap in the literature, by assessing the effect of contextual, textual and interpreter characteristics on the interpretability of constitutional documents. Constitutions are found to vary in their degree of interpretability. Surprisingly, however, the most important determinants of variance are not contextual (for example, era, language or culture), but textual. This result emphasizes the important role that constitutional drafters play in the implementation of their product.
    Department
    Government
    Subject
    constitutions
    text interpretation
    law
    institutions
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/2152/22252
    Citation
    James Melton, Zachary Elkins, Tom Ginsburg and Kalev Leetaru (2013). On the Interpretability of Law: Lessons from the Decoding of National Constitutions. British Journal of Political Science, 43, pp 399-423. doi:10.1017/S0007123412000361.
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