Case Frames and Case-Based Arguments in Statutory Interpretation

TL;DR

This paper presents a new conceptual model for analyzing statutory interpretation cases using case frames and argument schemes, aiming to improve legal reasoning and support hybrid AI systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel case frame model with argument schemes for statutory interpretation, validated with a dataset, advancing legal analysis and AI integration.

Findings

Model demonstrates robustness with a modest dataset

Highlights differences between statutory and common law reasoning

Lays groundwork for hybrid AI argumentation systems

Abstract

We introduce a novel conceptual Case Frame model that represents the content of cases involving statutory interpretation within civil law frameworks, accompanied by an associated argument scheme enriched with critical questions. By validating our approach with a modest dataset, we demonstrate its robustness and practical applicability. Our model not only provides a structured method for analyzing statutory interpretation but also highlights the distinct needs of lawyers operating under statutory law compared to those reasoning with common law precedents. The model presented here is a step towards developing a hybrid Machine Learning and Argumentation system that includes a module for constructing well-structured arguments from textual datasets.