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Article published In:
Context-dependency of Argumentative Patterns
Edited by Frans H. van Eemeren
[Journal of Argumentation in Context 6:1] 2017
► pp. 44–58

The identification of prototypical argumentative patterns in the justification of judicial decisions

| University of Amsterdam, ILIAS

In this contribution I identify prototypical patterns in the justification of judicial decisions. From a pragma-dialectical perspective, I explain the nature and rationale for the argumentative patterns from the perspective of the institutional function of legal justification and I distinguish different argumentative patterns in clear cases and hard cases in the justification of judicial decisions.

Keywords: argumentative pattern, clear cases, hard cases, legal justification, legal decision, legal rule, legal interpretation method, prototypical argumentative pattern
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Legal justification and the application of legal rules in clear cases and hard cases
  • 3.Prototypical argumentative patterns in clear cases and hard cases
  • 4.Prototypical argumentative patterns in hard cases about the meaning of a legal rule
    • 4.1The argumentation in a hard case in which the court makes an exception to a legal rule
    • 4.2The argumentation in a hard case in which the court gives an interpretation of a legal rule
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 6 April 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jaic.6.1.03fet
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Cited by

Cited by 3 other publications

Feteris, Eveline T.
2017. The Pragma-Dialectical Approach of Legal Argumentation. In Fundamentals of Legal Argumentation [Argumentation Library, 1], ► pp. 201 ff. DOI logo
Kienpointner, Manfred
2023. Review of van Eemeren, Garssen, Greco, van Haaften, Labrie, Leal & Wu (2022): Argumentative Style. Journal of Argumentation in Context 12:2 ► pp. 243 ff. DOI logo
van Eemeren, Frans H.
2017. Chapter 10. The dependency of argumentative patterns on the institutional context. In Prototypical Argumentative Patterns [Argumentation in Context, 11], ► pp. 157 ff. DOI logo

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