{"id":5640,"date":"2021-10-25T09:36:16","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T07:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/?p=5640"},"modified":"2025-04-30T17:45:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T15:45:58","slug":"subject-matter-of-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/subject-matter-of-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Subject Matter of the Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Argument from the SUBJECT MATTER OF THE LAW<\/strong><\/span>
\nPro subjecta materia<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n

Latin pro subjecta materia<\/em> argument, Lat. subjectus<\/em>, \u201cadjacent, near\u201d, materia,<\/em> \u201csubject\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The argument from the subject matter of the law<\/em> requires that the text of a law or of a regulation is not interpreted absolutely but depending on the matters concerned, i.e., the specific material subject<\/em> <\/span>and purpose <\/em>of the law, <\/em>see legal legal arguments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the following case, the interpretation derived from the purpose of the law leads to the redefinition of the expression completely snow-covered area<\/em><\/span> as meaning \u201cplaces where the snow cover is sufficient for tracking game<\/em>\u201d, since the purpose of the law is the protection of game<\/em>. The same term would be defined quite differently if its purpose were to regulate off-piste skiing, for example.<\/p>\n

What is meant by, \u201carea completely covered with snow<\/em>\u201d?<\/span> If this condition were interpreted literally, the prohibition of hunting in the snow would hardly ever produce a result. […] The purpose of the law is to prevent the destruction of game, but this destruction is not prevented if I hunt, outside the forest, on land where I can follow the tracks of the game, even though the neighboring land is snowless.<\/span>
\nIt is of little consequence therefore if the snow melts over an area of \u200b\u200bone hundred acres of rocky or swampy ground, if I hunt on the nearby land which remains covered with snow. Is it true that, in our hypothesis, the object of the prohibition would be evaded, if we allowed a contrary interpretation? \u2014 Obviously yes. It is therefore necessary to agree with our opinion, since the word \u201centirely<\/em>\u201d used here cannot be applied literally. It is therefore necessary to give it only the meaning and the scope that it contains pro subjecta materia<\/em>.<\/span>
\nThus I think that it is an offense if one is found hunting, outside the forest, on snow-covered ground, as long as one can track the game.<\/span>
\nRenaissance Joseph Bonjean, [Code of Hunting<\/em>], 1816.[1]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The subject matter corresponds to the intention of the law, which in turn is determined by reference to the i<\/a>ntention<\/a><\/em> of the legislator<\/em><\/a>, here to protect the game.
\nWhen the subject matter is indicated by a title, the argument of the subject matter of the law and the argument of the title of the law (a rubrica<\/em>) converge on the same conclusion.<\/p>\n

The argument of the subject matter of the law<\/em> is quite different from the argument to the matter<\/em><\/a>. The former refers to the content<\/em> of a particular law, the latter to the matter at issue<\/em> in an argumentative situation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> Renaissance Joseph Bonjean, Code de la chasse, <\/em>vol. 1, Li\u00e8ge: F\u00e9lix Oudard, 1816, pp. 68-69.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Argument from the SUBJECT MATTER OF THE LAW Pro subjecta materia Latin pro subjecta materia argument, Lat. subjectus, \u201cadjacent, near\u201d, materia, \u201csubject\u201d. The argument from the subject matter of the law requires that the text of a law or of a regulation is not interpreted absolutely but depending on the matters concerned, i.e., the specific […]<\/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-5640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5640","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=5640"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14144,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5640\/revisions\/14144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}