LE PRÉAMBULE DE LA CONSTITUTION COMME UN EXEMPLE D'UN TEXTE DE DROIT

Preamble to the Constitution is a special type of legal text, which differs significantly from the other legislative texts, both in terms of vocabulary, syntax and semantics. This paper aims to make the characteristics of the legal language of the preamble to the Constitution – its content, form and function it plays in the legal system. The linguistic corpus is composed of over twenty preambles to constitutions of European countries. The results show that, despite some differences between the preambles of individual European countries, there are many features in common – almost all mention the values and principles, considered as fundamental to the nation, such as independence, freedom or democracy. Some preambles also refer to the history of the country or religion and to the person of God – both indirectly and directly. Despite the fact that the preamble in terms of language is not like other legal texts, it has the characteristics of a normative act.