{"id":5629,"date":"2021-10-25T09:24:44","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T07:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/?p=5629"},"modified":"2025-04-30T17:31:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T15:31:44","slug":"strict-meaning-e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/strict-meaning-e\/","title":{"rendered":"Strict Meaning"},"content":{"rendered":"

STRICT MEANING<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

Latin a ratione legis stricta<\/em><\/strong>, or stricta lege<\/strong>,<\/em> Lat. ratio<\/em>, \u00ab\u00a0reason\u00a0\u00bb; lex<\/em>, \u00ab\u00a0law\u00a0\u00bb; strictus<\/em>, \u00ab\u00a0strict, narrow\u00a0\u00bb.<\/span>
\nLatin stricto sensu<\/em><\/strong>: Lat. sensus<\/em>, \u00ab\u00a0thought, idea, meaning\u00a0\u00bb.<\/span>
\nLatin ad litteram<\/em><\/strong>, littera<\/em> \u00ab\u00a0letter\u201d<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The argument based on the strict meaning<\/em><\/span> of a normative text prohibits restricting or extending the provisions of the law or regulation beyond what it clearly states. This can be considered as a special case of the principle \u00ab\u00a0do not interpret what is clear\u00a0\u00bb,\u00a0 see legal arguments<\/a>.
\nAccording to this principle, laws and regulatory provisions must be followed to the letter (ad litteram)<\/em>, in their strict sense (stricto sensu<\/em>).<\/p>\n

If the legal voting age to vote is 18 years, then you cannot forbid young people to vote on the day of their birthday because they are \u201cjust<\/em>\u201d 18, nor can you allow them to vote the day before their birthday because they are \u201calmost<\/em>\u201d 18.
\nBut from a linguistic point of view,<\/p>\n

\u201che is almost 18 years old<\/em>\u201d is co-oriented with (is the same as) \u201che is 18 years old<\/em>\u201d,
\n\u201che is barely 18 years old<\/em>\u201d is co-oriented with (is the same as) \u201che is not 18 years old<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

The principle of interpretation stricto sensu<\/em> cancels these co-orientations. The law establishes thresholds, and allows for threshold effects while almost<\/em> and barely<\/em> blur the boundaries. see orientation<\/a>; orienting words.<\/a><\/p>\n

The argument of the law’s<\/em> <\/a>generality<\/em><\/a> holds that laws and regulations must be applied to all the concrete cases<\/em> they cover. The strict meaning<\/em> principle holds that the law must be applied to all such cases according to its literal meaning<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The strict meaning principle usually applies when the law is clear. When it seems clear to one judge but not so clear to her colleague, a stasis<\/a> (a deadlock)<\/em> emerges on the necessity of interpretation (distinct from a stasis of interpretation<\/em>, where two interpretations clash).<\/span><\/p>\n

The letter vs. the spirit of the law
\n<\/strong>In a legal context, the label ad litteram<\/em> <\/span>label refers to an argument that strictly follows \u201cthe letter\u201d of the law, as opposed to its spirit<\/em>. Interpretations that appeal \u201cto the spirit\u201d of the law may appeal to the legislative intent.<\/em><\/a>
\nIn an argumentative context, an ad litteram<\/em> response addresses the strict letter<\/em><\/a> of the opponent’s discourse, as opposed to its meaning as intended by the opponent. Ad litteram<\/em> is then equivalent of ad orationem<\/em>, see matter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STRICT MEANING Latin a ratione legis stricta, or stricta lege, Lat. ratio, \u00ab\u00a0reason\u00a0\u00bb; lex, \u00ab\u00a0law\u00a0\u00bb; strictus, \u00ab\u00a0strict, narrow\u00a0\u00bb. Latin stricto sensu: Lat. sensus, \u00ab\u00a0thought, idea, meaning\u00a0\u00bb. Latin ad litteram, littera \u00ab\u00a0letter\u201d. The argument based on the strict meaning of a normative text prohibits restricting or extending the provisions of the law or regulation beyond what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5629"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14143,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5629\/revisions\/14143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}