In this part of the chapter, I will explore legislative texts from a prag-matic viewpoint. Beginning with an analysis of the aims (7.3.1) and func-tions of laws (7.3.2), I will discuss the consequences for reading in 7.3.3.
In 7.3.4, I will propose a model of law-text reading and comprehension.
7.3.1 Aims of laws
Lawmaking is a means of determining the development of society.
At a macro level the aim can be to change or preserve the existing structures of society, be they political, economic, cultural or social.
These structures are, however, products of the actions of individuals or groups of individuals, and at a micro level the aim of legislation is thus to influence people’s actions. If the goal is to change structures, legislation is designed to change our norms of behaviour, and is thus an instrument of reform. If the goal is preservation, it is designed to keep our norms of behaviour from changing. Legislation is in the lat-ter case a codification of the existing norms of society.
Most laws probably aim both to change and to preserve, but the pri-mary aim varies. The main aim of criminal law, e.g., can be considered
to be to preserve norms of behaviour, while other laws are primarily aimed at changing norms. Throughout the world, we find an increas-ing number of laws which aim to reform rather than preserve.
7.3.2 Functions of laws
If we now examine the different functions of laws, we can distinguish two main types with different main addresses. As Table 7.3 shows, one is the action-directing function, with ordinary citizens as the main addressees. Ordinary citizens have to abide by the law in vari-ous social situations. The other is the control function, with lawyers in court as the main addressees. By their judgments in court, members of the legal profession are expected to exercise control over citizens compliance with the law.
The functions of laws can be further discussed with regard to their aims. For laws that aim primarily to codify existing norms the main function is control-directing, while the function of those whose pri-mary aim is reform is to direct action. In the case of the Joint Regulation Act, the action-directing function is thus primary.
7.3.3 Reader, reading situation and reading purpose
If we first consider the reader, his or her pre-knowledge and experience can be described in terms of the various demands made by the text. We can describe the unusual demands that the reading and understand-ing of the law-text genre place on its reader as compared with those made by normal prose reading. These demands can be classified into requirements of general law-text knowledge, of knowledge of different legal and text conventions, concerning e.g. the structuring of law-texts, legal terminology, etc., and requirements of specific knowledge for the law in question. Knowledge relevant to the Joint Regulation Act includes, e.g., working life, trade unions, etc.
With regard to different readers of law-texts, a relevant distinc-tion with regard to pre-knowledge must be made between lawyers and laymen. In the case of the Joint Regulation Act discussed here a line might also be drawn between readers with work experience Table 7.3 Functions of laws (Gunnarsson, 1984)
FUNCTION Goal Main addressees Use of law
ACTION-DIRECTING Correct actions Ordinary citizens Different social situations CONTROL-DIRECTING Correct judgments Members of courts Court situations
and those without, and between people with trade union experi-ence and those without. This study therefore involves legal profes-sionals as well as semi-profesprofes-sionals, other profesprofes-sionals and lay people.
As for the reading situation and the reading purpose, different social situations have to be considered for each particular law. A fea-ture common to all law-text reading, however, is that laws can be read with an indirectly action-oriented purpose as well as a directly action-oriented purpose. We can read them to gain an overall picture of their content or to find out more exactly how to act or judge in par-ticular situations.
As an example, I shall now illustrate some possible reading situa-tions and reading purposes relative to ordinary citizens’ reading of the Joint Regulation Act. The citizen groups that are potential readers of this Act are employers, trade union officials and ordinary employees.
The reading can be directed towards immediate action to a varying degree, as is shown in the description of possible points of departure and reading purposes in Table 7.4.
Table 7.4 Points of departure and purposes when reading the Act on the Joint Regulation of Working Life (Gunnarsson, 1984)
Possible points of
A Acquiring knowledge Reading the entire Act Indirect influence on action Readers read the Act
because they wish to acquire a general picture of It.
The purpose is to gain an impression of the overall content of the Act, i.e. what areas it regulates and what the main rights and duties are which it sets out.
Reading the Act forms a basis for subsequent action. Readers have gained an Impression of when they can have recourse to the Act.
B Solving problems Reading parts of the Act Direct Influence on action Readers act on a
concrete case they have encountered, e.g. a dispute between employer and union.
The purpose is to find out what the Act lays down In a particular case or question. Readers may want to know, for example,
– what duties they/the union/the other party may have
– what rights they/the union/the other party may have
– what is prohibited
– what exemptions from duties apply – how they/the union should act so as to safeguard their rights or fulfil their obligations.
Readers act in accordance with the provisions of the Act or attempt to get round them. They remind their own organization or the opposing party what the Act lays down.
7.3.4 Model of law-text reading and comprehension
I consider the main point of departure to be that of the reader who reads the Act to solve a concrete problem, as in B in Table 7.4. The reader’s purpose is directly oriented towards action, to find out what the Act lays down in a particular case he or she has encountered.
When reading the law-text, readers can be assumed to actively process the text on the basis of a certain structuring of the concrete case that formed their point of departure, and of the specific question that to which they want to find an answer. Here the functional type of com-prehension is relevant – the reader wants to know how to act accord-ing to the law. Comprehension can be described as a chain of mental connections from the reader’s own situation to relevant parts of the Act and back to the reader’s situation.
The content base of a law can be described as a collection of rules, each rule consisting of a condition part, which outlines a framework situation for the sphere of application of the rule, and a directive elem-ent stating the obligation it imposes. To comprehend, readers have to link up their own situation with the situation set out in the rule. They must identify the relevant rule by establishing a connection with the correct framework situation. Having found the relevant rule, they must refer from the directive part of the rule back to their own situation and draw the right conclusions for their own action. The model shown in Figure 7.1 attempts to illustrate the functional comprehension of the law. The content of the rule can be analyzed into a framework situ-ation, F, and directive part, D.
The reading process can be described in four steps:
1. The reader looks for the relevant part and section of the law.
2. The reader looks for the relevant rule.
F D
Law-text
Reader’s world Reader’s
situation Action
Identification Implication
F D F D F D
Figure 7.1 Functional comprehension of law (Figure 1 in Gunnarsson, 1984: 81)
Note: F – Framework situation, D – Directive part
3. The reader realizes what is laid down in the law.
4. The reader realizes the consequences this will have for his or her action.
Steps 1 and 2 describe the search phase, steps 3 and 4 the conclusion phase.
For law-text comprehension, the reader has to recognize his or her own situation in the text. Comprehension is thus dependent on the cor-respondence between the reader’s perspective – the reader’s permanent structuring of the pertinent aspect of reality, and his or her occasional structuring due to the situation – and the perspective of the text.