Towards a legal analogical reasoning system: knowledge representation and reasoning methods

ABSTRACT

Analogy has many important functions in the domain of law. Since the number of legal rules is restricted and their content is often incomplete, it is necessary at times for a lawyer to opt for an analogical application of a legal rule to a given case in order to decide the case properly. He may apply the rule, though it may not have originally been deemed related to such an event, on the basis of some similarity between the event of the case and the requirement of the relevant legal rule. This type of reasoning is called legal analogy. This paper analyzes an actual case of legal analogy in the field of Japanese civil law in order to clarify the reasoning methods used in analogy, as well as knowledge to justify the analogy. Finally it will be shown how the knowledge is utilized in a symbolic reasoning system both in terms of inverse and standard resolution.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.2 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
      I.2.1 Applications and Expert Systems
          Subjects: Law

Additional Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.2 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
      I.2.4 Knowledge Representation Formalisms and Methods
          Subjects: Representations (procedural and rule-based)
      I.2.6 Learning
          Subjects: Analogies

General Terms:
Algorithms, Legal Aspects