Legal Language and Authority: A Social Representations Approach
Public support
Provider
Czech Science Foundation
Programme
Standard projects
Call for proposals
SGA0202600001
Main participants
Masarykova univerzita / Právnická fakulta
Contest type
VS - Public tender
Contract ID
26-22166S
Alternative language
Project name in Czech
Legal Language and Authority: A Social Representations Approach
Annotation in Czech
Legal language is often seen as overly complex, but its opacity may serve a deeper social function beyond mere communication. The proposed project seeks to explore how certain legal texts are perceived and recognized as "legal." To do so, we will employ the Social Representations Approach, a framework from social psychology capable of examining how collective understandings shape knowledge and meaning within a society. Given that legal communication engages diverse social groups with varying linguistic repertoires, understanding how people, both lay and expert, construct the concept of "the legal" is crucial. By analyzing specialized linguistic traits in legal writing, this research investigates what structural role they play in the social representation of “the legal” in legal writing and whether they reinforce epistemic authority of its author rather than simply obstructing comprehension. Our aim is to provide a framework to help legal teachers, practicing lawyers, and generative legal software developers understanding how to critically approach legal text drafting.
Scientific branches
R&D category
ZV - Basic research
OECD FORD - main branch
50501 - Law
OECD FORD - secondary branch
—
OECD FORD - another secondary branch
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CEP - equivalent branches <br>(according to the <a href="http://www.vyzkum.cz/storage/att/E6EF7938F0E854BAE520AC119FB22E8D/Prevodnik_oboru_Frascati.pdf">converter</a>)
AG - Legal sciences
Solution timeline
Realization period - beginning
Jan 1, 2026
Realization period - end
Dec 31, 2028
Project status
Z - Beginning multi-year project
Latest support payment
—
Data delivery to CEP
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data delivery code
CEP26-GA0-GA-R
Data delivery date
May 7, 2026
Finance
Total approved costs
6,162 thou. CZK
Public financial support
6,162 thou. CZK
Other public sources
0 thou. CZK
Non public and foreign sources
0 thou. CZK