Trigger conditions
1. Under literal interpretation, the legal norm gives rise to two or more possible meanings, and no single one can be chosen.
2. Literal interpretation has determined the core scope within which the legal norm can apply, but the marginal area remains vague and awaits clarification.
3. According to literal interpretation, a certain legal fact is simultaneously subsumed by the literal meanings of two or more legal norms or groups of norms, making it impossible to determine which legal norm or group of norms applies.
Capabilities
This skill can:
1.Capability 1: When literal interpretation cannot determine the meaning of a legal norm, use the legal system to elucidate its meaning.
2.Capability 2: From the perspective of the legal system, determine whether a certain legal norm applies to specific facts.
3.Capability 3: From the perspective of the legal system, determine which legal norm or group of norms should apply to specific facts.
How to Use
Step-by-step instructions
step 1 Identify from the results of literal interpretation the type of dispute that remains unresolved, and compress it into a specific interrogative sentence.
1. The types of disputes are limited to the following three situations:
(1) Under literal interpretation, the legal norm gives rise to two or more possible meanings, and no single one can be chosen.
(2) Literal interpretation has determined the core scope within which the legal norm can apply, but the marginal area remains vague and awaits clarification.
(3) According to literal interpretation, a certain legal fact is simultaneously subsumed by the literal meanings of two or more legal norms or groups of norms, making it impossible to determine which legal norm or group of norms applies.
2. The interrogative sentence should be written in single-sentence question-and-answer form as much as possible, for example:
(1) Should "joint" in Article 1169 of the Civil Code be understood as "subjective joint" or "objective joint"?
(2) Does Article X apply to fact Y?
(3) Should fact A be governed by Article X or Article Y?
step 2 With respect to the disputed issue, use systematic interpretive resources to interpret from the near to the far, with the specific rules as follows:
1. Based on what the legal system ought to mean, conduct a systematic interpretation of the text of the legal norm itself:
- If the legal norm lists specific persons or things and then assigns them to a "category of the same type," then the interpretation of the open-ended provision should be of the same type as the specifically listed persons or things.
- If the legal norm makes no special provision regarding its scope of application, it should be understood as a general law that can apply universally to all subjects, matters, and regions.
- Under closed enumeration, if the text of the legal norm explicitly mentions one or more matters of a specific type, this can be regarded as implicitly excluding other matters of that type that are not mentioned.
(4) If a norm is an exceptional rule to a general norm, its scope of application must be strictly limited; it cannot be expanded at will through interpretation, nor can analogy be applied at will.
2. Interpret based on the systematic position in which the relevant legal norm is located. The specific rules are as follows:
(1) Determine the meaning or scope of application of a legal norm based on the name of the part, chapter, or section in which it is located
- If a legal norm is named "General Provisions" in a law, is named "Basic Provisions" or "General Provisions" in a certain part or chapter, or is located in a relatively early position in a certain chapter or section (usually Article 1), and the matters regulated by subsequent legal norms in the same law, part, chapter, or section can literally be subsumed under it, then it can also apply to the matters regulated by subsequent legal norms.
- When a single fact is subsumed under two or more norms at the same time, the rules that a higher-level law takes precedence over a lower-level law, a special law takes precedence over a general law, and a new law takes precedence over an old law shall be applied. The specific criteria for judgment are as follows:
a. The hierarchy of legal norms is Constitution > Law > Administrative Regulations > Local Regulations and Administrative Rules (including departmental rules and local government rules). The effect of local regulations is higher than that of administrative rules formulated by governments at the same or lower level.
b. A norm that is located earlier in the legal system, has a broader scope of subsumption, and is expressed more abstractly is usually a general norm
c. A norm promulgated later is a new law
3. Find the legal norms associated with it, and determine the meaning or scope of application of the legal norm according to the meaning of the mutually associated legal norms. The specific rules are as follows:
(1) Apart from the division of labor between general norms and special norms, if a certain interpretation would cause other adjacent norms to lose their independent applicable significance, that interpretation should be excluded as a priority.
(2) Use the rule that "the same term in the same law should in principle maintain a consistent meaning throughout" to conduct systematic interpretation, thereby determining the meaning of the concept or the scope of application of the legal norm
(3) Use the rule that "if a law uses two terms, then in principle the two should be distinguished" to conduct interpretation.
step 3 When the following circumstances exist, do not output the final conclusion; truthfully output that the following circumstances exist:
1. The core scope of the literal meaning itself has not yet been determined, and systematic interpretation cannot be carried out
2. According to the above interpretation rules, no conclusion can be reached, or the conclusions conflict, and no systematic interpretation conclusion can be reached
3. The facts to be decided have exceeded the possible literal meaning scope of the provision, and gap-filling is required
4. Resolution of the disputed issue mainly depends on purposive interpretation, balancing of interests, or policy judgment, and judgment cannot be made through systematic interpretation
5. The new general provisions formulated by the same organ are inconsistent with the old special provisions; the provisions of local regulations and departmental rules on the same matter are inconsistent; the provisions among departmental rules, or between departmental rules and local government rules, on the same matter are inconsistent; regulations formulated according to authorization are inconsistent with legal provisions.
step 4 If the circumstances in step 3 do not exist, output a conclusion containing the following content:
1. Disputed issue
2. Systematic basis and reasons for judgment
3. Conclusion of systematic interpretation
Input Format
Describe expected input:
Format : Description The input should contain the following content:
(1) Content of the legal norm (required)
(2) Disputed term/disputed scope (required)
(3) Candidate meanings derived from literal interpretation (optional)
(4) Facts to be judged (optional)
For example, in Article 1168 of the Civil Code, "two or more persons jointly commit a tortious act," the term "jointly" may be understood either as subjective jointness or as objective jointness, and cannot be determined.
Output Format
Describe what will be produced:1
1.Output 1: Description When a conclusion can be reached through systematic interpretation, output the following content:
(1) Disputed issue
(2) Systematic basis and reasons for judgment
(3) Conclusion of systematic interpretation
For example, in Article 1168 of the Civil Code, the term "joint" in "two or more persons jointly commit a tortious act" may refer to either "subjective joint" or "objective joint," and it cannot be determined. By combining the provisions of Articles 1171 and 1172 of the Civil Code regarding torts in which multiple persons have no subjective intent to communicate but whose objective conduct combines to cause harm to others, it can be clarified that "joint" in Article 1168 already excludes torts by multiple persons without intent to communicate; therefore, it should refer to joint fault, that is, "subjective joint."
2. Output 2: Description When no conclusion can be reached through systematic interpretation, output the following:
- The part that cannot be determined
- The reason why it cannot be determined
For example, regarding "obvious unfairness" as provided in Article 105 of the Civil Code, its interpretation mainly needs to be based on value judgments and legislative purpose, and it cannot be determined through systematic interpretation.
Example Usage
● According to the rule in step 2 1.(1), Article 999 of the Civil Code provides for "acts such as news reporting and public opinion supervision carried out for the public interest." When interpreting such acts, it should refer to acts of the same type as news reporting and public opinion supervision that safeguard the public interest, and does not include other acts that safeguard the public interest.
● According to the rule in step 2 1.(2), with respect to Article 1165, paragraph 1 of the Civil Code, the law has not made special provision for its scope of application, and therefore it is a rule generally applicable to compensation for tort damage.
● According to the rule in step 2 1.(3), Article 1125 of the Inheritance Part of our Civil Code provides that where an heir tampers with or conceals a will, and the circumstances are serious, this leads to loss of the right of inheritance. According to the rule that the express mention of one thing excludes others, in other circumstances, such as concealing a will, the heir's right of inheritance cannot be lost.
● According to the rule in step 2 1.(4), Article 1190, paragraph 1 of the Civil Code provides: "Where a person with full capacity for civil conduct temporarily has no awareness of his or her own conduct or loses control and causes harm to another, and is at fault, he or she shall bear tort liability; if not at fault, he or she shall appropriately compensate the victim according to the person's economic situation." In this Article, if the actor is not at fault, appropriate compensation shall be given, and this constitutes an exceptional provision. Accordingly, it should be interpreted strictly, that is, only where a person with full capacity for civil conduct is not at fault for temporarily having no awareness of his or her own conduct or losing control and causing harm to another, does the actor not bear tort liability but bear compensation liability.
● According to the rule in step 2 2.(1), with respect to subrogation inheritance as provided in Article 1128 of the Civil Code, if viewed from the literal meaning, it may refer to either statutory inheritance or testamentary inheritance. However, because its location in the system is the chapter on statutory inheritance in the Inheritance Part of the Civil Code. Therefore, from the perspective of systematic interpretation, it should refer only to statutory inheritance.
● According to the rule in step 2 2.(1), the term "possession" in the Property Part of the Civil Code, when used in the subpart on ownership, means one of the powers of ownership, namely the power of possession. But when used in the subpart on "possession," it means a fact of possession.
● According to the rule in step 2 2.(2), Article 1245 of the Civil Code provides: "Where a domesticated animal causes harm to another, the keeper or manager of the animal shall bear tort liability; however, if it can be proved that the harm was caused by the intentional act or gross negligence of the infringed person, the liability may be omitted or mitigated." This Article is placed before Article 1249 of the Civil Code concerning harm caused by abandoned or escaped animals. And from the literal meaning, the matters regulated by Article 1249 also fall within the literal scope of Article 1245. Therefore, the grounds for exemption and mitigation of liability set out in Article 1245 can also apply to the situations provided in Article 1249.
●According to the rule in step 2 3.(1), regarding Article 1168 of the Civil Code on joint tort, there are different interpretations as to whether "joint" adopts the theory of common fault or the theory of objective connection. By combining Articles 1171 and 1172 of the Civil Code, which provide for torts where several persons have no subjective communication of intent but whose objective conduct combines to cause harm to others, it can be made clear that "joint" in Article 1168 already excludes torts by several persons without communication of intent; therefore, it should refer to common fault.
●According to the rule in step 2 3.(2), an example of determining the scope of application of legal norms is as follows: Article 367, paragraph 2 of the Civil Code, regarding the contents of a residential right contract, provides that "a residential right contract generally includes the following clauses: (1) the name or designation and domicile of the party ..." Here, the legislator used "name or designation." From the perspective of systematic interpretation, Article 1012 of the Civil Code provides: "A natural person enjoys the right to name and has the right to decide, use, change, or license others to use his or her own name in accordance with law, but may not violate public order and good morals." Article 1013 of the Civil Code provides: "A legal person or an unincorporated organization enjoys the right to designation and has the right to decide, use, change, transfer, or license others to use its own designation in accordance with law." It can be seen that in the Civil Code, name and designation are clearly distinguished, and the legislator uses the concept of "designation" only for legal persons and unincorporated organizations. Therefore, based on this method of systematic interpretation, it should be considered that the subject of the residential right holder is not limited to natural persons, but should include legal persons and unincorporated organizations.
●According to the rule in step 2 3.(2), an example of determining the meaning of legal norms is as follows: Article 1222 of the Civil Code provides that "concealing or refusing to provide medical records related to the dispute" constitutes a situation, and Article 1225 of the same law further provides for the specific types of medical records, including admission records, doctor's orders, examination reports, etc. Therefore, when interpreting the provisions of Article 1222 of the Civil Code, reference should be made to the provisions of Article 1225 of the Civil Code
●According to the rule in step 2 3.(3), in the contract part of the Civil Code, some relevant norms are expressed as "creditor's rights and debts," while others are expressed as "contractual rights and obligations." Through systematic interpretation, it can be found that all norms using the expression "creditor's rights and debts" (for example, in Chapter 6 of the contract part of the Civil Code, "Change and Assignment of Contracts," which provides for assignment of creditor's rights and assumption of debts) apply not only to contractual relationships but also to other creditor-debtor relationships. In contrast, all norms using the expression "contractual rights and obligations" (for example, Article 556 of the Civil Code on the comprehensive assignment of contracts, which adopts the expression "the rights and obligations under the contract are assigned together") apply only to contractual relationships.
Best Practices
●This skill must be invoked after textual interpretation is completed, and may not be used directly by skipping textual interpretation.
●Systematic interpretation may not exceed the scope of the literal meaning of the text of the legal norm.
●For disputed issues, use systematic interpretation resources from near to far. First look at the preceding and following provisions in the same article, the same part and chapter, and the same law, and then expand to other norms in the same legal department, avoiding generalization from the outset.
●If a situation arises in which a systematic interpretation cannot be derived, do not make a judgment; output the part that cannot be judged and the reasons.
Limitations
●Systematic interpretation presupposes that textual interpretation has delineated the scope of the core literal meaning; when the core literal meaning is still unclear, systematic interpretation cannot be applied.
●Systematic interpretation easily relies on the external form of the law. Provisions of positive law are presumed to be systematic, but this presumption is not absolutely reliable and needs to be verified with the aid of teleological interpretation.
●It applies only to legal interpretation, not to judicial law-making (gap-filling, analogical application). When a provision does not cover the facts at issue at all, other methodological tools should be used instead.
●This skill outputs structured legal analysis and does not directly replace adjudicative conclusions; actual cases still require comprehensive judgment in light of the complete facts, evidence, procedural status, and adjudicative authority.