On the constitutive correlation between the identification and intentional explanation of conventional acts

Abstract

The article examines the specific correlation (interdependence) between the identification and intentional explanation of conventional acts (in particular, legally significant conventional acts). The author describes this interdependence as ‘constitutive’ because in this case intentional explanation plays a constitutive role for the identification of a conventional act. This can be expressed through the formula: ‘person P performed conventional act CA1’ only if ‘person P performed conventional act CA1 because person P was driven by the intention to perform conventional act CA1.’ The article analyses the logical and argumentative structure of the abovementioned correlation. On the basis of the analysis, the author claims that a constitutive correlation indicates that a relevant intention should be perceived as an element of the act itself (in contrast to the view adopted in the theory of conventional acts) and that verification rules relevant for the given act exist alongside the constitutive rules. Recognizing the relevant intention as an element of the conventional act stands in opposition to causalism, which treats intentions as the causes of actions.