Components of Legal Concepts: Quality of Law, Evaluative Judgement, & Metaphorical Framing of Article 8

TY - JOUR

T1 - Components of Legal Concepts

T2 - Quality of Law, Evaluative Judgement, & Metaphorical Framing of Article 8

AU - Slosser, Jacob Livingston

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - This paper looks at the use of metaphor and its effect on the interpretation of the ‘quality of law’ of contracting parties in Art. 8 cases of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). This paper demonstrates the Court’s reliance on and reproduction of specific metaphorical frames - a finding consistent with the use of metaphor in judgment experiments in cognitive linguistics. The Court employs metaphors conceptually coherent with those used in their cited precedent, in their representation of the successful pleadings within their judgments and insists (implicitly) on different metaphors in dissent. This paper argues that rather than being simple judicial rhetoric, the use of congruent metaphors may be indicative of metaphor as a contributing factor in how judges reason. In the least, it is a significantly understudied phenomenon and this paper provides evidence for the salience of its approach for understanding judicial reasoning. It approaches case law as data to understand the effects metaphorical framing has within them.

AB - This paper looks at the use of metaphor and its effect on the interpretation of the ‘quality of law’ of contracting parties in Art. 8 cases of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). This paper demonstrates the Court’s reliance on and reproduction of specific metaphorical frames - a finding consistent with the use of metaphor in judgment experiments in cognitive linguistics. The Court employs metaphors conceptually coherent with those used in their cited precedent, in their representation of the successful pleadings within their judgments and insists (implicitly) on different metaphors in dissent. This paper argues that rather than being simple judicial rhetoric, the use of congruent metaphors may be indicative of metaphor as a contributing factor in how judges reason. In the least, it is a significantly understudied phenomenon and this paper provides evidence for the salience of its approach for understanding judicial reasoning. It approaches case law as data to understand the effects metaphorical framing has within them.

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1351-5993

VL - 25

JO - European Law Journal

JF - European Law Journal

IS - 6

ER -