On Legal Argumentation

The theory of legal argumentation is one of the most important Issues in the research field of legal philosophy and logic . In the international community, the research of argumentation and legal argumentation have been carried out for more than 30 years. However, the relevant research has just started in China. In this article, the author gives a relatively comprehensive study of argumentation and legal argumentation.This dissertation is based on two basic positions. The first one is that only when a proposition has gained enough reasons can the proposition be fully acceptable. The second is that in the process of judicial trial, the issue of whether the judicial decision is acceptable can be solved in the framework of the legal system.The dissertation consists of three parts: introduction, text and conclusion. The text is composed of three parts. Part one is the normal theory about argumentation. Part two is the concept, meaning and method of legal argumentation. Part three is the operation mode of legal argumentation.The introduction part gives a brief review of the research of argumentation and legal argumentation and illustrates the main structure of the article.In the first part of the text, the author discusses some basic problems about argumentation, such as its concept, its evaluation method and a typical argumentation mode - " Toulmin's argumentation mode" .In the second part, the author gives a definition of legal argumentation and analyses the characters and necessity of legal argumentation.In the third part, the author brings forward a mode of legalargumentation which has not emerged in China. This argumentation mode is composed of three levels, the level of legal reasoning, the level of legal interpretation and the level of the application of legal principle. The author emphasizes that each of the three levels gives different support to the final judicial decision and each one is indispensable.In the conclusion part, the author discusses the status of legal argumentation in the system of legal methodology. The author suggests that legal argumentation should be placed at the core position of the system of legal methodology since legal reasoning and legal interpretation are both a specific level in the process of legal argumentation.