Semiotics and law

Issue 4/2019

Abstract. In the first part of this contribution, some elements on semiotics as a discipline are introduced. We therefore mention the historical framework in which J. L. Austin’s reflection collaborated to found a non-referentialist idea of language and the impact it had on a semiotics of law. The article then attempts to present three of the fundamental contributions to the idea of a semiotic study of law. It is a work by A. J. Greimas on the meaning of a famous French law, the l. 24 July 1966 no. 66-537, on commercial companies; an essay by E. Landowski, unpublished in Italian, on four truthful paths that intertwine in the scene of the trial; Bernard Jackson’s thought, which introduces, among other things, the concept of “semiotic groups” for the study of legal practices and questions some philosophical assumptions on the essence of the law.

This article was submitted anonymously for evaluation by two expert reviewers, with a positive outcome.

SUMMARY: 1. Introduction and questions. – 2. Language, world and law. – 3. The work of Algirdas J. Greimas. – 4. Eric Landowski. – 5. Bernard Jackson. – 6. Final notes.

To read the Article, click on “open file”.