In the field of legal argumentation studies, Atienza (2017, p. 34) reports that, since the end of the 1970s, what he calls the standard theory has predominated.
He (Atienza, 2017, p. 34) explains that this theory distinguishes two levels of justification for a judicial decision: the internal level and the external level. Internal justification refers to the syllogism between normative and factual premises that results in a conclusion. External justification, on the other hand, pertains to the foundation of the premises themselves. This external justification may concern facts or norms.
In the case of justifications related to norms, various types of interpretative arguments are used to support the claim that a norm should be understood in a certain way.
Bibliographic references
ATIENZA, Manuel. Curso de argumentação jurídica. Translated by Claudia Roesler. 1st ed. Curitiba: Alteridade, 2017.