Catala – Law to Code • Hacker News Board

Re: Catala – Law to Code

#41

Post by shakna » Sun, Dec 07, 2025, 6:50 AM UTC

bigbadfeline wrote: post #36

shakna wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To avoid harm, you must identify intent. To punish, you must establish intent. Intent has been the core underiding feature of the law since the Magna Carta. To ignore or trivialise it is nothing short of advocating for the return of kings.

> Intent has been the core underiding feature of the law since the Magna Carta. I've already explained that intent is another word for interest - material or political, it may not be as trivial as potato chips but it's far simpler than rocket science. > To ignore or trivialise it is nothing short of advocating for the return of kings. Another purely speculative assertion with zero meaning or practical value. There's…

If intent were so simply explained, then the High Courts across the world would serve no function - as interpreting intent is their core role.

Material interest and intent only accidentally collide. Intent cannot be defined in that manner.

Almost every person beneath a capitalist system has a material interest in wealth. That does not translate to intent to seize it.

If intent does not matter, only interest, then there is no war crime in bombing boats. There is no arguing with the government's interpretations of law, as they will have a vested interest as to how it plays out.

The "test of intent" is not a part of law to be so offhandly thrown aside.

Re: Catala – Law to Code

#42

Post by ascold » Sun, Dec 07, 2025, 7:06 AM UTC

I wonder what people who speak the actual Catala have to say about this semantic appropriation. It would be very easy for creators just to google it first.

Re: Catala – Law to Code

#43

Post by Garlef » Sun, Dec 07, 2025, 7:21 AM UTC

Serious question:

Is there any money to be made with this yet? (Jobs, Contracting, Projects, etc)

If not: What's the plan to get this to be used?

Re: Catala – Law to Code

#44

Post by Y_Y » Sun, Dec 07, 2025, 7:46 AM UTC

6gvONxR4sf7o wrote: post #31

Y_Y wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not so important in Napoleonic/Civil jurisdictions like France. Judges can consider prior rulings, but the law as-written is the main thing.

How's that account for language drift over centuries?

Napoleon's only been gone for about two hundred years, whereas Common Law has some real classics. For example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Merton was a set of laws promulgated in 1235, some of which remained in force (at least nominally) until the 1980s. I don't know much about Canon Law, but that surely goes back even further.

All that to say, you can just do your best to understand the law in the the context in which it was written, and replace the text every now and again.

Re: Catala – Law to Code

#45

Post by mkl » Sun, Dec 07, 2025, 7:51 AM UTC

dghlsakjg wrote: post #26

mkl wrote: post #3

[flagged]

Catala != Catalan

Try clicking my "Catala" link and looking at the first sentence. The Catalan word for Catalan is català.

Re: Catala – Law to Code

#46

Post by vjay1510 » Sun, Dec 07, 2025, 8:15 AM UTC

Reminds me of smart contracts

Re: Catala – Law to Code

#47

Post by darkwater » Sun, Dec 07, 2025, 9:01 AM UTC

tough wrote: post #19

embedding-shape wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not even unrelated, Catala (the law-language) seems to be a French project, supported by institutions in France, and Catalan seems to have a intertwined history with France: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language#France

funnily enough, the relation comes from a french jurist's last name from their repo: https://github.com/CatalaLang/catala > The language is named after Pierre Catala, a professor of law who pionneered the French legaltech by creating a computer database of law cases, Juris-Data.

Name that is almost certainly related to Catalonia as well.

Re: Catala – Law to Code

#48

Post by postepowanieadm » Sun, Dec 07, 2025, 2:57 PM UTC

Garlef wrote: post #43

Serious question: Is there any money to be made with this yet? (Jobs, Contracting, Projects, etc) If not: What's the plan to get this to be used?

Sure - just add an AI and money will flow.

Re: Catala – Law to Code

#49

Post by kiliancs » Sun, Dec 07, 2025, 4:46 PM UTC

tough wrote: post #19

embedding-shape wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not even unrelated, Catala (the law-language) seems to be a French project, supported by institutions in France, and Catalan seems to have a intertwined history with France: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language#France

funnily enough, the relation comes from a french jurist's last name from their repo: https://github.com/CatalaLang/catala > The language is named after Pierre Catala, a professor of law who pionneered the French legaltech by creating a computer database of law cases, Juris-Data.

Also in their website https://catala-lang.org/en/about#naming

Re: Catala – Law to Code

#50

Post by dghlsakjg » Sun, Dec 07, 2025, 6:18 PM UTC

mkl wrote: post #45

dghlsakjg wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Catala != Catalan

Try clicking my "Catala" link and looking at the first sentence. The Catalan word for Catalan is català.

Great. You would know that the accent can completely change the meaning of a word in that language as such an expert.

So we can just say that catala != català