TY - GEN

T1 - Giving every case its (legal) due

T2 - 30th International Conference on Legal Knowledge and Information Systems, JURIX 2017

AU - Panagis, Yannis

AU - Šadl, Urška

AU - Tarissan, Fabien

PY - 2017/1/1

Y1 - 2017/1/1

N2 - In this article we propose a novel methodology, which uses text similarity techniques to infer precise citations from the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), including their content. We construct a complete network of citations to judgments on the level of singular text units or paragraphs. By contrast to previous literature, which takes into account only explicit citations of entire judgments, we also infer implicit citations, meaning the repetitions of legal arguments stemming from past judgments without explicit reference. On this basis we can differentiate between different categories and modes of citations. The latter is crucial for assessing the actual legal importance of judgments in the citation network. Our study is an important methodological step forward in integrating citation network analysis into legal studies, which significantly enhances our understanding of European Union law and the decision making of the CJEU.

AB - In this article we propose a novel methodology, which uses text similarity techniques to infer precise citations from the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), including their content. We construct a complete network of citations to judgments on the level of singular text units or paragraphs. By contrast to previous literature, which takes into account only explicit citations of entire judgments, we also infer implicit citations, meaning the repetitions of legal arguments stemming from past judgments without explicit reference. On this basis we can differentiate between different categories and modes of citations. The latter is crucial for assessing the actual legal importance of judgments in the citation network. Our study is an important methodological step forward in integrating citation network analysis into legal studies, which significantly enhances our understanding of European Union law and the decision making of the CJEU.

KW - Citation networks

KW - CJEU

KW - Network analysis

KW - Text similarity

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85037995930&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3233/978-1-61499-838-9-59

DO - 10.3233/978-1-61499-838-9-59

M3 - Article in proceedings

AN - SCOPUS:85037995930

T3 - Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications

SP - 59

EP - 68

BT - Legal Knowledge and Information Systems - JURIX 2017

PB - IMIA and IOS Press

Y2 - 13 December 2017 through 15 December 2017

ER -