Legal Language and Interpretation
Open access
Peer reviewed
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract Judges often cite legal scholars. Sometimes they defer argumentatively to scholars as authorities. Such arguments, we claim, are neither sound nor legitimate. Legal scholarship serves two functions. One is modest and descriptive: reporting the undisputed content of legal sources and existing consensuses on some point of law. Such matters can lend themselves to authoritative settlement. But the core function of legal scholarship, involving the substantive reconstruction of suboptimal legal sources, is normative. And on such matters, we argue—by discussing the structure of arguments from authority and what counts as genuine authority—there is no room to treat scholarly pronouncements as authoritative.
Direct answer
What can I do from this paper page?
Use this page to scan "When Are Arguments from Scholarly Legal Authority Legitimate?" quickly: start with the summary and abstract, then check the authors, source, topics, and related papers. From here, open Scollr to follow Legal Language and Interpretation research, save the paper, or map adjacent work.
Research areas
Follow related topics
Citation
BibTeX
@article{dAlmeida2026When,
title = {When Are Arguments from Scholarly Legal Authority Legitimate?},
author = {Luís Duarte d’Almeida and Fábio Perin Shecaira},
journal = {Canadian Journal of Law & Jurisprudence},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1017/cjlj.2026.10073},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/cjlj.2026.10073}
}FAQ
Using this paper in a discovery workflow
How do I find related work for this paper?
Use the related papers and topic links on this page as starting points. In Scollr, you can also open the paper and build a literature map around its references, citing papers, and related work.
How can I keep up with new Legal Language and Interpretation research papers?
Follow Legal Language and Interpretation research in Scollr. New papers from the topic flow into a personalized feed, and you can save useful studies to revisit later.
Can I cite this paper from this page?
This page includes a static BibTeX block for When Are Arguments from Scholarly Legal Authority Legitimate?. Always verify the DOI, source, and publication details against the publisher record before submitting a manuscript.
Follow this research in Scollr
Follow the topics and authors behind this paper, save useful studies, and build a literature map when you are ready to go deeper.
Get the app