Understanding Legal Rules and Linguistic Propositions

Legal Rules and General Notions

The concept of law is manifested through rules, specifically legal rules. These rules possess a specific range and set of characteristics that differentiate them from other standards, such as religious ones. They are structured and appear collectively; this group of rules is what we refer to as law (or normative language).

Linguistic Propositions in Legal Contexts

Legal rules are often expressed as prescriptive linguistic propositions, meaning they are sets of words endowed with specific meaning. Linguistic propositions can be categorized into different types, such as descriptive or evaluative:

• Descriptive linguistic propositions: For example, "that jersey is green." This is a description of an object that can be tested as true or false.
• Evaluative propositions: These are created based on subjective criteria and transmit a personal opinion on a particular issue. For example, "this jersey is nice." This type of proposition cannot be tested as true or false; it is debatable and based on value judgments.

The Prescriptive Nature of Law

The law is neither an evaluative nor a descriptive proposition. As mentioned above, it is prescriptive because it responds to an imperative criterion. It does not merely describe reality or assign value; instead, it aims to influence, prescribe, modify, or drive human behavior.

Most legal rules are mandates. They indicate commands or precepts given to an apparatus to perform specific operations. For example: "one must drive a car that has passed the MOT." This is a prescriptive proposition, not a descriptive or evaluative one. Prescriptive propositions induce behavior, and legal rules create a new reality to which citizens must accommodate. This leads to the creation of laws by the government; for instance, the law may state that you must drive at a maximum speed of 120 km/h.

Ambiguity in Legal Terminology

The term "law" can be ambiguous because it is often used broadly when the exact subject is unclear. We frequently use the phrase "what the law says" in an improper sense by equating "the law" with specific legislation (e.g., "the law requires us to..."). However, other sciences also utilize this term, such as the physical sciences referring to Newton's Law.