On The Circulativeness Of Legal Interpretation

The hermeneutic circle is an important topic of hermeneutics. It refers to the idea that one's understanding of the text as a whole is established by reference to the individual parts and one's understanding of each individual part by reference to the whole. Neither the whole text nor any individual part can be understood without reference to one another, and hence, it is a circle. As a branch of the hermeneutics, Legal interpretation is also puzzle of the hermeneutic circle. Domestic scholars have started to pay attention to the circulation in researching legal interpretation. At present, however, the subject has not been detailed and systematic study except a few scholars introduce it relatively detailed. The object of legal interpretation is restricted to legal norms in traditional research. That lead to ignore the process of legal interpretation. Thus it is not pay attention to the significance given by facts to legal interpretation. Standing on lawmaker position, traditional researchers ignore the judge's dynamic role. This paper analysis detailed forms of cycle in process of legal interpretation by studying literature, contrasting and empirical analysis, and reveal the theoretical and practical significance of legal interpretation.The main text is divided into three parts:Part One: Paraphrase of circulativeness of legal interpretation. This paper analyzes argumentations about the meaning of the legal interpretation, and point out their shortage. Then it discusses the meaning of the legal interpretation from its scene and object and subject and target. This paper summary currently research to the circulativeness of legal interpretation. The circulativeness of legal interpretation based on two theories—The Hermeneutic and The Dialectics. As development of the hermeneutic, the hermeneutic circle comes to approach of being from a method of understanding and interpreting. The hermeneutic is base and method of understanding and interpreting. The dialectics show that the essence of the hermeneutic circle is contradiction and the motivation of hermeneutic circle is the contradiction of mental itself.Part two:The content of legal interpretation cycle. This part manly analyzes specific form of circle in legal interpretation. There are variety of circular relationship in different levels of legal norms, laws of different codes, words and integral norms, clauses of codes. The important relationship that faces and legal are interactive circulating is ignoring by traditional legal hermeneutics research. The facts are converted to legal facts and the laws to judicial norms in interacting between facts and legal norms. In the circle, norms and legal significance of facts are combined to judicial norms. The judge's former understanding that is the premise of legal interpretation is developed in process of legal interpretation.Part three:The significance of legal interpretation cycle. The circular character is quite significative to the theoretical research and practice of legal interpretation. It is helpful for understanding of objectivity and argument of effectiveness of legal interpretation. It promotes the research and using of methods of legal interpretation. It is helpful for realizing the rule of law and playing judge's initiative.