Consistency and coherence in the "hypertext" of law

a textological approach

Wojciech Cyrul

pp. 167-186

in: Michał Araszkiewicz, Jaromír Šavelka (eds), Coherence, Berlin, Springer, 2013

Abstract

The following paper discusses from the textological perspective the concept of text of law. It is argued that the Dworkin's metaphor of a chain novel is not appropriate to explain the textuality of law, because the text of law is a specific form of feeding text, distinctive from the classical ones, i.e. monolog and dialog. Its characteristic resembles hypertexts rather than novels. Based on this, the distinction between consistency and coherence is presented and their roles are analysed. Finally, the relationship between intertextuality and coherence of the law is interpreted and explained.