This open access volume provides a comprehensive account of the role of legal interpretation in shaping the development of law, legal reasoning, and institutional and constitutional practice. Drawing on contributions from constitutional law, criminal law, civil liability, consumer protection, EU law and digital regulation, it highlights interpretation as a key mechanism through which coherence, adaptability and fairness are maintained within legal systems.
Legal interpretation mediates the translation of abstract principles into concrete outcomes, supports the protection of rights and freedoms, and enables the integration of new social and technological realities into existing legal frameworks. The contributions address a range of topics, including religious freedom, government liability, undue influence in liberalities and the evolving concept of family, illustrating how interpretative approaches can influence the scope and effectiveness of fundamental rights.
Several chapters examine the constitutional dimension, focusing on the Romanian Constitutional Court’s use of the rule of law principle, the liability of government members and the impact of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights on domestic legal systems. Other contributions engage with criminal law, including analogy in malam partem, teleological reasoning and the relationship between legal logic, aporia and structured openness. Civil and commercial law developments are also considered through analyses of consumer contracts, tort law and SME regulation.
The volume further addresses contemporary challenges, including the impact of legal tech on litigation practices, the role of expert evidence and interpretative issues related to online advertising. Throughout, it shows how interpretation operates as a bridge between relatively stable legal texts and evolving social contexts.
Overall, the book demonstrates that legal interpretation is not merely a technical tool, but a central element of legal reasoning, institutional practice and democratic legitimacy. It will be of interest to scholars, practitioners and advanced students engaged with contemporary developments in law and its interaction with society and technology.

Ioana-Maria Costea is a Professor of Financial and Tax Law at the Faculty of Law, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, currently serving as Vice-Rector of the University. She has been a licensed attorney since 2010, a member of the Iași Bar, specializing in tax, administrative, and corporate law, with expertise in VAT, corporate and individual taxation, and tax inspection. She earned her PhD in Law in 2010 with the thesis Complementarity and Subsidiarity in Combating Tax Evasion and obtained her habilitation (PhD supervisor status) in 2020, leading doctoral research in Financial and Tax Law. Professor Costea is the author of several monographs (Tax Inspection, Combating Tax Evasion, European Taxation) and numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, including publications indexed in Web of Science (WoS). She has been a speaker and keynote at national and international conferences (e.g., NISPAcee, EUFIRE, UAIC Law Days) and actively participates in academic committees and research networks in the field of tax and financial law.