Ask HN: Why is law stuff seemingly against normal people?

Re:Ask HN: Why is law stuff seemingly against normal people? by flukus on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @01:20AM (#13528207)

Does it convey things precisely though? I seems like everything is being constantly interpreted and even reinterpreted as language changes but the law doesn't. Even old stuff like the constitution of many nations are being constantly challenged.

I'd like to see laws come with unit tests, "under circumstance a, b and c, person x would be at fault".

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Re:Ask HN: Why is law stuff seemingly against normal people? by ahartman00 on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @05:08AM (#13529239)

"I seems like everything is being constantly interpreted and even reinterpreted as language changes but the law doesn't"

I don't think it's so much language changes as society changes. Social norms and taboos change. Technology changes. It's like how code needs maintenance because it breaks. The world is changing. This is a feature not a bug.

Hypothetical example. Lets say there were noise regulations designed before electricity. But once you have electricity, now people have loud speakers. How do we interpret the law? Does the existing law really work?

"I'd like to see laws come with unit tests, "under circumstance a, b and c, person x would be at fault""

This is pretty much exactly what they do. Look at all the sub sections spelling everything out exactly. It is as precise as can be.

https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/939/III/4...

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Re:Ask HN: Why is law stuff seemingly against normal people? by euyyn on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @02:13AM (#13528452)

When I read the Spanish Intellectual Property Act, I was in awe at how well the law is documented. Much easier to parse than plenty of computer programs.

Of course that law is a couple decades old, not a couple centuries.

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Re:Ask HN: Why is law stuff seemingly against normal people? by Someone on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @02:40AM (#13528545)

Every single sentence by a judge or jury is a unit test (which may have bugs itself that get corrected by higher courts)

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Re:Ask HN: Why is law stuff seemingly against normal people? by benchaney on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @04:44AM (#13529136)

No, a sentence by a judge or jury is running the program in the wild. A unit test would be a hypothetical scenario that documents the intent of the lawmaker.

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