Tenor in Judicial Reasoning
Modality in majority and dissenting judgments in the High Court of Australia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.v9i3.229Keywords:
Discourse Analysis, Language of LawAbstract
This paper juxtaposes the modelling of language and context in systemic functional linguistics (SFL) with a modelling of legal relations in jurisprudence (that of W. N. Hohfeld), in order to discuss realizations of tenor in legal discourse in the context of the High Court of Australia. In particular, the paper focuses on choices of modality in the judicial reasoning, that is judgments, of the different judges in a single case. The case of Al-Kateb was chosen because all seven High Court Judges gave judgments and because of the close result: four judges in the majority and three dissenting. While textual analysis suggests potential discursive features of the judgment register, it also suggests differences in the repertoire of individual judges.
References
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Popple, J. (2000) Seniority. In T. Blackshield, M. Coper, and G. Williams (eds) The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia, 617–618. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Blackshield, T., Coper, M. and Williams, G. (eds) (2000) The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Blackshield, T. and Williams, G. (2010) Australian Constitutional Law and Theory: Commentary and Materials (5th edn). Sydney: Federation Press.
Coper, M. (2000) Joint judgments and separate judgments. In T. Blackshield, M. Coper, and G. Williams (eds) The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia, 367–369. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Craske, R. and Haigh, R. (2000) Judgment production. In T. Blackshield, M. Coper, and G. Williams (eds) The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia, 369–370. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Crock, M. and Berg, L. (2011) Immigration, Refugees and Forced Migration: Law, Policy and Practice in Australia. Sydney: Federation Press.
Fowler, H. W. (1965) A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (2nd edn). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1978) Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning. London: Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K. and Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2004) An Introduction to Functional Grammar (3rd edn). London: Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K. and Webster, J. J. (eds) (2009) Continuum Companion to Systemic Functional Linguistics. London and New York: Continuum.
Hasan, R. (2009) The place of context in a systemic functional model. In M. A. K. Halliday and J. J. Webster (eds) Continuum Companion to Systemic Functional Linguistics, 166–189. London and New York: Continuum.
Hislop, D. J. (1967) The Hohfeldian system of fundamental legal conceptions. Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie 53: 53–89.
Hohfeld, W. N. (1913) Some fundamental legal conceptions as applied in judicial reasoning. Yale Law Journal 23 (1): 16–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/785533
Kelsen, H. (1945) General Theory of Law and State (transl A. Wedberg). Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.
Martin, J. R. (2010) Semantic variation – modelling realisation, instantiation and individuation in social semiosis. In M. Bednarek and J. R. Martin (eds), New Discourse on Language: Functional Perspectives on Multimodality, Identity, and Affiliation, 1–34. London and New York: Continuum.
Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2009) Ideas and new directions. In M. A. K. Halliday and J. J. Webster (eds) Continuum Companion to Systemic Functional Linguistics, 12–58. London and New York: Continuum.
Nuyts, J. (2005) The modal confusion: On terminology and the concepts behind it. In A. Klinge and H. H. Müller (eds), Modality: Studies in Form and Function, 5–38. London: Equinox.
Pearce, D. (2006) Statutory Interpretation in Australia (6th edn). Sydney: LexisNexis.
Popple, J. (2000) Seniority. In T. Blackshield, M. Coper, and G. Williams (eds) The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia, 617–618. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Published
2014-06-03
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Huisman, R., & Blackshield, T. (2014). Tenor in Judicial Reasoning: Modality in majority and dissenting judgments in the High Court of Australia. Linguistics and the Human Sciences, 9(3), 229-248. https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.v9i3.229
