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In the present text the author introduces the concept of dogmatic anthropology – the original idea of French philosopher, lawyer and psychoanalyst Pierre Legendre. In this conception the positive order of law should be completed by „another scene”, i.e. human unconscious. The law and namely the justification of normativity is profoundly dependent of Freudian constructions of Totem and Taboo and Lacanian conception of mirror and the role of the father as big Other. Psychoanalytic categories serve to explain the sense of legitimacy of the normative order. Our time must acknowledge his uncertain and terrifying condition and recognize that the basic reflection focuses on question: why have the law? The role of the law refers to the establishment of a zone of Prohibition and principle of filiation. This allows a subject might be born in the institutional order and be protected by it. In this sense, the subject is captured by the institution and the law become the creator of life. P. Legendre stresses the importance of the Legal Text as a source of normativity establishing identity through words.
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A subject of the article is uniformity of judicial interpretation in the context of two rules of interpretation, namely a clara non sunt interpretanda rule and an omnia sunt interpretanda rule challenging first mentioned method. The author points out that taking into consideration omnia sunt interpretanda rule, i.e. order to perform interpretation in every case, may lead to disintegration of judicial interpretation and as a consequence destabilization of judicature in general. Main thesis of the article is that institutional conceptualization of the clara non sunt interpretanda rule is an answer to this threat, because application of this rule enhances the argument from precedent in judicature. According to abovementioned version of clara non sunt interpretanda rule, legal text is considered as obvious and needs no interpretation if its meaning is certain in previous judicial interpretation, e.g. there is line of precedents or preliminary ruling. However it must be underlined that clara non sunt interpretanda rule is not unquestionable. It is a defeasible argument in judicial discourse; it only changes an argumentation burden which does not rest on the one who refers to this rule, but on the one who challenges the rule (wants to perform interpretation).
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The subject of the paper is the notion of redundancy, which in the text of law may be perceived both from systemic point of view and linguistic perspective. Within systemic standpoint, the paper focuses on superfluum issue, which occurs when one provision is repeated by another legal provision (full superfluum) and when part of one provision becomes „new” provision (or its part) in the same or another legal text (partial superfluum). These manifestations of systemic redundancy are not always results of legislative mistakes (as might be noticed during analysis of selected examples of superfluum derived from Polish legal texts), but the evaluation of each case of superfluum depends on criterions, which in Polish legal system are incomplete and imprecise. In the second part, the paper discusses one kind of linguistic redundancy – semantic redundancy, which appears in pleonasms, tautologies and pleonastic analytisms. It is argued here, in contrary to majority of previous descriptions of semantic redundancy phenomenon presented in linguistics and legal theory, that some redundant expressions may be useful during interpretation of legal provisions, because in certain circumstances they may have pragmatic values. These values are: enhancing meaning, specifying meaning and explicating meaning. Furthermore, in some cases aforementioned pragmatic values may be reached by context-independent redundant expressions, what has been shown basing on examples from Polish legal texts.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe the application of artificial neural networks in modeling legal reasoning. In particular, the paper will be focused on specific problems which may occur only on the ground of legal reasoning and are difficult from the artificial intelligence perspective. The focal point of the paper is not to provide technical details of analyzed systems but to point out parts of legal conceptual framework which are inconsistent with classical techniques of designing of expert system. Paper consists description of a few legal expert systems based on artificial neural networks. Each of them is the basis for presentation of particular feature of legal reasoning which are considered difficult from the AI point of view e.g. vague concepts, open-texture, analogy.
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Traditional philosophical tension between a reason and emotions has been a subject of increasing objections. As a result emotions are defended by pointing their connections with beliefs, value judgments to name just a few strategies. This paper also takes up an attempt of this sort showing that traditional definition of emotions with features of the process of application of law makes a threat from the emotions for the impartiality of a judge much less warranted than it might seem. What is more, an attempt is taken up to argue that feeling can be a chance for impartiality conceived as argumentative openness.
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The concept of a culture of lawfulness is appealing for its aspirational and open-ended nature. However, the concept still has to prove itself as a concrete basis for action. The article argues that the practical value of that concept lies in its promise to create a fresh common narrative to support a broad range of human-rights inspired and democratically derived justice reforms. The authors reflect on what makes a culture of lawfulness possible, how it always remains fragile, and how one might recognize signs it is under attack. A culture of lawfulness is based on the genuine willingness of government officials and members of society to hold themselves and one another accountable to the law, which requires a certain level of trust and confidence in justice institutions and their ability to protect everyone from injustice and insecurity. The article emphasizes the role of justice reforms in sustaining such a culture. Law reform initiatives and the strengthening of justice institutions play a central role in fostering and shouldering a culture of lawfulness, particularly when such reforms are not limited to capacity building measures but also address the more fundamental need for greater fairness, accountability, transparency, and inclusiveness. What is a grave concern in many societies is the political failure to defend the rule of law and to proceed with the necessary justice reforms to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability. One of the most important tasks today is to consolidate the culture of lawfulness wherever it has taken root
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This essay seeks to clarify what is meant by a Culture of Lawfulness (CoL), first in its original academic terms and antonym – lawlessness. The author ventures into its quintessence from a sociological perspective of criminal tribal traditions, next as the effect of conflict and post-conflict situations, and, then, as statutory lawlessness under the guise of the Rule of Law. Second, the essay considers CoL as a collateral of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda, introduced under its chapeau by the Thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (Doha, Qatar, 2015).Th ird, the author looks into the relation between the Rule of Law and economic development. Finally, he looks into the question of the advancement of a Global Culture of Lawfulness that supports the rule of law and human rights while respecting cultural identities, through intergenerational and intercultural transmission of crime prevention values in the age of migration. In this latter context, the author discusses the educational CoL challenges for immigrant children and youth.
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The relationship between education and peace is a complex one. The article discusses how education can be the driver of peace and Culture of Lawfulness or, if used to propagate intolerance or prejudice, it can also fuel injustice. Throughout its content, the article looks at the issue of Culture of Lawfulness through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly from the SDG 4 perspective. The article focuses on the role education can play in advancing the Culture of Lawfulness. In particular, the article discusses the development of Global Citizenship Education (GCE) as an important tool for Culture of Lawfulness. Furthermore, the article also highlights the role of students’ social and emotional skills’, also known as non-cognitive skills, and the development through GCE teaching and learning, in their lawful behaviour. Teachers are considered key actors of change and much attention should be given to their training needs, both on the initial training level, as well as through continuous professional development.
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In this paper, we discuss an innovative approach to teaching integrity and ethics at university level. In particular, we discuss the University Modules on Integrity and Ethics, which the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) developed under its Education for Justice (E4J) initiative. UNODC’s involvement in developing educational materials stems from the recognition that education plays a crucial role in promoting the rule of law and crime prevention. The E4J University Modules encourage lecturers from different regions and disciplines to incorporate integrity and ethics education into their programmes and courses. The paper consists of three parts. The first part introduces the new approach to global ethics education that E4J offers. The second part discusses the development of integrity and ethics modules. The third part explores their implementation and the ways in which lecturers can use the materials to promote a culture of lawfulness.
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The mention of “culture of lawfulness” in the Doha Declaration of the Thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (Qatar, 2015) prompted the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to develop the Education for Justice initiative, aiming to support the integration of crime prevention and the rule of law into all levels of education. This essay gives an example of how the culture of lawfulness can be promoted by teaching a tertiary-level course showing the links among the rule of law, corruption, transnational organized crime, and the need for appreciation of diverse cultures. The essay illustrates this by the case of countering of transnational organized crime, and presents the reasons for and ways to integrate discussion of the rule of law and corruption. Finally, this essay’s author argues for the need to understand and appreciate diverse legal traditions.
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