[arcticbull]

> Take the existing legal system in the US – laws are interpreted by courts/judges/etc, who AFAICT generally choose to interpret laws by their letter rather than their spirit.

The US legal system is based on English Common Law, where precedent and interpretation by a judge have force of law. This is in contrast with Civil Law where the law must be executed as written and judges have very little room for interpretation. Note that in North America, both Quebec and to an extent Louisiana continue to follow the Napoleonic code.