CIVIL LAW INTERPRETATION

louisiana legal system is based on 

civil law

civil law tradition primary sources are 

enacted law and custom

enacted law includes

constitutional law and legistaltion( special and general)

legislation includes

civil code and statues

customary law is

unwritten established practice that has acquired binding nature in the force of law

secondary sources of civil law

jurisprudence, doctrine, usage (equity - gap filler)

jurisprudence 

the courts interpret the law, their jurisprudence is heavily relied upon by judges an lawyers

jurisprudence constant

highly persuasive series of cases (not binding)

doctrine

includes writing of legal scholars, legal opinions, and commentaries on legislation

start with analyzing

primary sources

plain reading 

start with the plain reading of the article 

other methods include (as followed: in recommended order)

exigentical method
historical method
teleological method 
modern method 

exigetical method

most conservativemethod
used to determine legistatures og intent 

gramatical and logical 

grammatical method

argument from usage / argument from grammer

argument from usage

words should be given their generally prevailing meaning

technical words should be construed technically; broad words should be construed broadly

argument from grammer

interpretation of the states should be construed according to the rules of grammar

(can be supported by secondary sources - aka dictionary)

logical methods of reasoning 

ad absurdum 
a pari ratione
a contrario sensu
ab inuilitate
a rubrica
pro subjecta materia
in pari materia
ejudem genris

ad absurdem 

argument from absurdity,

Ad absurdum sets on the notion that the legislature is not unreasonable, therefore the

interpretation of the statute that leads to “absurd” results should be resisted.

a pari ratione

argument by analogy,

where a statute lays down a rule for one set of circumstances, one can infer that

the same rules apply to other similar circumstances.

a fortiori ratione

inferences by greater force of logic

a contrario sensu 

argument by contract,

where a statute lays down a rule for one set of circumstances, one can infer that

the same rules apply to other similar circumstances.

ab inuilitate

argument from superfluity,

an interpretation that rends the statutory provision in question of some other

statutory provision superfluous or redundant ought to be resisted. The legislature is an economical

speaker and does not waste its breath, therefore provisions and terms are intentionally drafted and

have independent meaning.

a rubrica

the title of a statutory provision,

title of the statutory provision, although not the law, is indicative of legislative intent. The title of

a statutory provision should be reasonably related to the content of the provision.

pro subjecta materia

argument from subject matter, to argue

that in interpreting a statutory

provision, one may take into account the place where the provision is located within the

statutory text. Rest on the idea that the law is systematized and the organization scheme has

meaning.

in pari materia

argument from context,

one may interpret a statutory provision in light of other statutory provisions that address the same subject matter. Rests on the sensible assumption that statutes on the same subject master demand consistent results, or service the same purposes.

ejudem generis

argument from genre,

when a statute sets forth a lift of things or person, followed by a catch

fall such as “other things or persons,” the catch all should be interpreted as including things or

persons of the same kind as the particular things listed. The legislature intentionally leaves a

category “open” to be filled by the interpreter with additional cases which are consistent with

legislative intent.

historical method

where we can infer the legislative intent from the legislative history, and historical sources. Historical sources include preparatory works, drafts of the legislation and sources of the legislation.

teleological method

more progressive method of interpretation

This method involves interpreting the legislation so that it is

consistent with the legislative spirit. In order to do this we look at the purpose of the law, identify the result to which a particular application leads and whether the result is consistent with the purpose of the law.

modern method

Modern methods

of interpretation are used to fill in true gaps in the law FOR CASE AT HAND. Modern methods of interpretation include the

evolutive approach and free scientific research. However, in this instance is it likely that there is not a true

gap in the law and therefore we do not need to evaluate using modern methods of interpretation.

CAN APPLY

• deductive 

• analogical 

• inductive 

• dialectical