Abstract

The norms of every legal order are based on the image of the world dominant in a particular culture and shared by the lawmakers. Legal regulations are created on the basis of the beliefs the lawmaker entertains about the reality, about the properties of the entities it comprises and about their various interdependencies. Normative decisions (both legislative and interpretative or applicative) are also rooted in the culture-specific hierarchy of values. They determine a set of interests and goals that are worth attaining and that justify the models of behaviour, which are supposed to serve their pursuit. Thus, the image of the world that constitutes the very foundations of a legal order includes primarily certain ontological and axiological beliefs.