Denotation in Normative Texts. From Legal Semiotics to Legal Ontology

Abstract: Denotation in Normative Texts. From Legal Semiotics to Legal Ontology.
This essay aims to investigate denotation in normative texts by examining a subset of the noun phrases that appear in normative texts: the denoting phrases. In particular, I will examine the noun phrases that occur in the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union. In the text of the Charter, I have identified five different types of denoting phrases, which I have distinguished according to the type of entity that the phrases denote: (i) phrases denoting ontic entities, (ii) phrases denoting values, (iii) phrases denoting deontic entities, (iv) phrases denoting institutions, (v) phrases denoting institutional entities.