?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_id=44&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Feprints.imtlucca.it%2F46%2F&rft.title=On+the+Interpretability+of+Law%3A+Lessons+from+the+Decoding+of+National+Constitutions&rft.creator=Melton%2C+James&rft.creator=Elkins%2C+Zachary&rft.creator=Ginsburg%2C+Tom&rft.subject=JA+Political+science+(General)&rft.subject=K+Law+(General)&rft.description=A+critical+component+of+law+is+the+ease+by+which+experts+and+lay+persons+can+understand+it.+If+a+law+is+unclear%2C+it+is+unlikely+to+generate+compliance+and+enforcement.+Using+data+from+a+project+conceived+to+understand+the+content+of+national+constitutions%2C+we+assess+the+effect+of+contextual%2C+textual%2C+and+interpreter+characteristics+on+the+interpretability+of+constitutional+documents.+We+find+that+constitutions+do+vary+in+their+degree+of+clarity.+However%2C+contextual+barriers+do+not+seem+to+matter%3A+constitutions+written+in+bygone+eras%2C+in+different+languages%2C+or+in+far+different+cultural+milieus+are+no+less+interpretable+by+readers+than+are+those+written+in+closer+temporal+and+cultural+proximity.+On+the+other+hand%2C+several+textual+characteristics+do+have+a+sizable+impact+on+interpretability%2C+a+result+that+emphasizes+the+important+role+that+constitutional+drafters+play+in+the+implementation+of+their+product.&rft.publisher=Political+Concepts%2C+Committee+on+Concepts+and+Methods+Working+Paper+Series&rft.date=2010-11&rft.type=Working+Paper&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.identifier=++Melton%2C+James+and+Elkins%2C+Zachary+and+Ginsburg%2C+Tom++On+the+Interpretability+of+Law%3A+Lessons+from+the+Decoding+of+National+Constitutions.++Working+Paper+++Political+Concepts%2C+Committee+on+Concepts+and+Methods+Working+Paper+Series+++++++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.concepts-methods.org%2FFiles%2FWorkingPaper%2FPC_44_Melkinsburg.pdf&rft.relation=44