The Concept and Content of Legal Principles and General Clauses. Comparative Remarks

Abstract

The paper deals with the comparative analysis of the concept of legal principles and general
reference clauses. The legal principle is the intra-legal value, appearing in various ways in the legal
order, with the fundamental set of principles formed directly in the normative acts. The general
clause is presented in the paper as the reference to the extra-legal values, expressed in the legal text
(by the name) but substantially left open. That empowers the court to define the name of the clause
and to find its content, what means fulfilling the criterion with the axiology, balancing individual
preferences of the court and socially determined values. Reconstruction of the principles and the
clauses restricts the role of the linguistic rules of interpretation, strengthening the impact of axiologically
involved systemic, teleological and functional rules.