Der eingebildete Dritte

Elena Barnert deals with a standard figure of argumentation in civil law, a figure which appears in many contexts: in the shape of a careful captain, a conscientious notary, a responsible insurance policy holder, an experienced truck driver, a respectable businessman, an attentive - or a cursory - reader, an objective spectator, a circumspect, sensible person, the »reasonable man« etc - figures which are significant for the structure of the adjudication process. Each of these variants is a complex normative model, a product of methodical fantasy, which has been constructed by judges for civil cases with the objective of creating a specific criterion for the implementation of the law. From a theoretical and practical perspective, the author analyzes the (judicially constituted) imaginary »third man« as the »ideal« player in law - selectively, but not arbitrarily equipped with varying characteristics.