Représentation discursive des pairs et ethos dans les arrets de la Cour de cassation française

Abstract

The French Cour de cassation is located at the apex of the judicial pyramid. The court is responsible for verifying the conformity of decisions to the law. Despite the dominance of this pre-discursive ethos, the organ is not exempt from justifying its decisions, which are strategically made to be read at the hearing, and then published. From a discursive approach, it will be shown that argumentation in those judicial decisions is based on the distribution of roles, which influences the relationships between the Cour and the judges. The discursive representation of judicial organs reveals a discursive routine linked to the situation of enunciation marked by the judicial ritual. The representation of relationships and rigid staging give us information about the discursive image of the Cour and its ethos, which is particularly relevant for its persuasive strategy.