摘要：The present paper proposes to discuss the efficiency of legal norms, but not from the viewpoint of those who create them, but of those for whom they are made and supposed to act upon. This can be done either by interviewing people who had to do with the law, or approaching domains in which this aspect was analyzed. One of them undoubtedly is literature. From many literary examples of how legal norms act upon people, we chose Franz Kafka’s well‐known novel “The Trial”. The plot suggests that both laws and the way they are applied does not create the natural state of well being and justice, but, on the contrary, confusion, misunderstanding and eventually fear.The “efficiency” of laws consists, in the case we have chosen, in the main character being sentenced to death without being guilty or, even worse, without having thes lightest idea why he was brought to justice. For him being in a trial will be, like for the author himself, a great paradox.The conclusion of the novel is nevertheless exaggerated, but still we cannot avoid thinking how many of those being tried (not always being charged with murder,theft, rape, etc.) actually understand what is going on or what was the efficiency of legal norms in their particular case!
