In this article, the author develops a sociological analysis of the subjective elements that influence the construction of a judicial decision. To do so, she uses a qualitative focus that enables judicial decisions to be approached as concrete social actions, to which the actors in this case the judges attribute a specific meaning and significance. The starting premise is that judges, investigating magistrates and public prosecutors interpret the law in accordance with certain contexts of meaning that are influenced directly by discussions external to the law. In the three empirical cases analysed in this article, the author demonstrates the means used to politicise the law and convert it into an element to be taken into consideration in the course of the struggle for power.