In Europe there have long been two schools of thought about how to interpret statutes and constitutions. One stresses the formal meaning of the words, the general principles of law established by the codes and the general academic and judicial doctrin...
In Europe there have long been two schools of thought about how to interpret statutes and constitutions. One stresses the formal meaning of the words, the general principles of law established by the codes and the general academic and judicial doctrines derived from those words and general principles. This approach s often called the formal approach. The other school of interpretation seeks to take into account the purposes for which the law was enacted and the extent to which one interpretation or another will best serve that purpose. This school is often called purposive or teleological.