Interpretation of Law: History of Formation (with an Emphasis on Criminal Law Interpretation)

The paper examines the patterns of historical development of interpretation as an intellectual activity through the synergy of legal and religious knowledge. The author makes a number of important conclusions, representing a new look at the chronological framework of the emergence of interpretation and the development of its methodological apparatus, and identifies a number of patterns associated with its subsequent centuries-long development. The latter include, in particular: 1) the priority of literal interpretation over «non-literal» interpretation both in the field of theology and in normative interpretation; 2) the politicization and «teleological» nature of interpretation in the broad sense; 3) the use of analogy in the legal field as a means of expanding social regulation where it is impossible or inappropriate to resort to interpretation. To achieve the objectives of the study, the author used theoretical methods of dialectical analysis and synthesis, methods of generalization and comparative law (mainly in the retrospective (historical) aspect), and the formal legal method.

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