The theory of the legal 'contraintes'

Starting from a theory of interpretation stating that legal interprets are free, the Théorie des contraintes (Theory of constraints) tries to isolate some specific factors that influence, determine or simply occur in the law-decision process. The “constraints” reduce the field of possibilities for authors producing a legal enouncement, decision, or reasoning. It's not synonymous of obligations in the common legal sense, defining an obligation as a set of duties imposed by legal norms. The concept of “constraints” is not conceived in the order of “sollen” (ought) but in the order of “sein” (is). The hypothesis is as follows: there are specific legal constraints that are different from moral, economical, psychological or social factors, and such constraints also determine the legal decisions. This paper aims to conceptualize the specificity of such constraints and to establish typologies in order to allow a more precized identification.