University thesis:
Dissertation, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2017
Footnote:
Description:
Indeterminacy in legal texts is pervasive. At the same time, there is a widespread misunderstanding about what indeterminacy is - especially in the law. Legal texts are particularly interesting insofar as they address a heterogeneous audience, are applied in a variety of unforeseeable circumstances and must, at the same time, lay down clear and unambiguous standards. Sometimes they fail to do so, either by accident or by intention. While many have claimed that indeterminacy facilitates flexibility and can be strategically used, few have even recognized that there are more forms of indeterminacy than vagueness and ambiguity. A comprehensive account of legal indeterminacy is called for. This work is a contribution to lift the puzzle about the role of indeterminacy in in the law and aims to answer three, related, questions.