Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Law
The Text Through Time, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee
The Text Through Time, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The text of a written constitution or bill of rights is prone to ‘drift’ or ‘slippage’ in the meanings of terms. Even if such meanings have not altered over time, because of changes in attitudes and values there may be disagreement with the text’s framers as to the scenarios that are covered or not covered by terms. This article submits that the distinction between the connotation and denotation of a term that has been applied in Australian jurisprudence is useful for determining the meaning of the text through time. The connotation of a term is the generally unchanging bundle of …