3.1 Azuelos-Atias
Sol Azuelos-Atias. (2013). The purposive method of legal interpretation in practice. International Journal of Law, Language & Discourse 3(1), 30-54.
Abstract: In this study, I discuss the unique Israeli way of statutory interpretation according to which the court should interpret statutes in light of the purpose behind their legislation. After a brief survey of the Israeli legal system, I discuss the place of interpretation in legal philosophy in general and in the legal philosophy of Aharon Barak – the most influential figure in Israeli current jurisprudence – in particular. Finally, I present the judicial criteria for application of the purposive method of legal interpretation and elucidate how this method is applied in Israeli courtrooms by means of an example of the judicial interpretation of section 13(5) of the Defamation Law presented in the Fuad Chir v. Oded Gil case (Permission of a civil appeal 1104/07). From the point of view of comparative law the Israeli way of statutory interpretation is interesting as in comparison to the other methods of statutes interpretation applied in the Western family of legal systems, it is an extremely flexible method of statutes interpretation.
Keywords: jurisprudence, Aharon Barak, Dworkin, defamation, legal truth
Category: Volume 3
