Giorgio Leali

The paper adopts the perspective of “law and literature” studies to investigate how the French novel ‘Lives others than my own (D’autres vies que la mienne)’ by Emmanuel Car-rere addresses the evolutions of European Union law on unfair terms in consumer con-tracts. By looking at European Union law from the perspective of individual lives, the essay compares the way in which literature and EU law conceive three categories of individuals involved: consumers, moneylenders and judges. Carrere’s novel is taken as an example to challenge the stereotype according to which literature expresses a sym-pathetic and partisan conception of social reality compared to the one of law.

Phenomenology of legalese. The quality of legal language and the theme of its obscurity constitutes an interesting subject of studies for both linguistic and legal scholars. To investigate the connection between the formal and the substantial dimension of law, this essay will position the theme of legal language in the broader perspective of “law and literature” studies and analyse some traits of “legalese” explaining its sources and its negative implications in politics and society.

The paper adopts the perspective of “law and literature” studies to investigate how the French novel ‘Lives others than my own (D’autres vies que la mienne)’ by Emmanuel Carrère addresses the evolutions of European Union law on unfair terms in consumer contracts. By looking at European Union law from the perspective of individual lives, the essay compares the way in which literature and EU law conceive three categories of individuals involved: consumers, moneylenders and judges. Carrère’s novel is taken as an example to challenge the stereotype according to which literature expresses a sympathetic and partisan conception of social reality compared to the one of law.

[Phenomenology of legalese] The quality of legal language and the theme of its obscurity constitutes an interesting subject of studies for both linguistic and legal scholars. To investigate the connection between the formal and the substantial dimension of law, this essay will position the theme of legal language in the broader perspective of " law and literature " studies and analyse some traits of " legalese " explaining its sources and its negative implications in politics and society.