  We propose a new formalization of legal competences, and in particular for
the Hohfeldian categories of power and immunity, through a deontic
reinterpretation of dynamic epistemic logic. We argue that this logic
explicitly captures the norm-changing character of legal competences while
providing a sophisticated reduction of the latter to static normative
positions. The logic is completely axiomatizable, and we apply it to a concrete
case in German contract law to illustrate that it can capture the distinction
between legal ability and legal permissibility.
