Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
4,319
result(s) for
"Constitutional law -- Philosophy"
Sort by:
Political Constitutionalism
Judicial review by constitutional courts is often presented as a necessary supplement to democracy. This book questions its effectiveness and legitimacy. Drawing on the republican tradition, Richard Bellamy argues that the democratic mechanisms of open elections between competing parties and decision-making by majority rule offer superior and sufficient methods for upholding rights and the rule of law. The absence of popular accountability renders judicial review a form of arbitrary rule which lacks the incentive structure democracy provides to ensure rulers treat the ruled with equal concern and respect. Rights based judicial review undermines the constitutionality of democracy. Its counter-majoritarian bias promotes privileged against unprivileged minorities, while its legalism and focus on individual cases distort public debate. Rather than constraining democracy with written constitutions and greater judicial oversight, attention should be paid to improving democratic processes through such measures as reformed electoral systems and enhanced parliamentary scrutiny.
eBook
Political political theory : essays on institutions
\"Political institutions are or ought to be the main subject of political theory. The essays in this collection are works of political theory devoted specifically to the institutions and institutional principles of modern democracy. They illustrate the author's contention in the opening chapter that the theory of politics needs to reorient itself so that it is not just the study of social justice. Institutions need to be taken seriously, by normative political theorists as much as by empirical political scientists. The collection includes studies of constitutionalism, the separation of powers, bicameralism, loyal opposition, representation, legislative due process, democratic accountability, and judicial review. It also includes critical essays on the political philosophies of Hannah Arendt and Isaiah Berlin\"--Publisher's information.
Book
African Constitutionalism and the Role of Islam
Constitutionalism is steadily becoming the prevalent form of governance in Africa. But how does constitutionalism deal with the lingering effects of colonialism? And how does constitutional law deal with Islamic principles in the region?African Constitutionalism and the Role of Islamseeks to answer these questions. Constitutional governance has not been, nor will be, easily achieved, Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im argues. But setbacks and difficulties are to be expected in the process of adaptation and indigenization of an essentially alien concept-that of of nation-state-and its role in large-scale political and social organization. An-Na'im discusses the problems of implementing constitutionalized forms of government specific to Africa, from definitional to conceptual and practical issues. The role of Islam in these endeavors is open to challenge and reformulation, and should not be taken for granted or assumed to be necessarily negative or positive, An-Na'im asserts, and he emphasizes the role of the agency of Muslims in the process of adapting constitutionalism to the values and practices of their own societies. By examining the incremental successes that some African nations have already achieved and An-Na'im reveals the contingent role that Islam has to play in this process. Ultimately, these issues will determine the long-term sustainability of constitutionalism in Africa.
eBook
Constitutional dialogue : rights, democracy, institutions
\"The metaphor of 'dialogue' has been put to different descriptive and evaluative uses by constitutional and political theorists studying interactions between institutions concerning rights. It has also featured prominently in the opinions of courts and the rhetoric and deliberations of legislators. This volume brings together many of the world's leading constitutional and political theorists to debate the nature and merits of constitutional dialogues between the judicial, legislative, and executive branches. Constitutional Dialogue explores dialogue's democratic significance, examines its relevance to the functioning and design of constitutional institutions, and explores constitutional dialogues from an international and transnational perspective\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
The Identity of the Constitutional Subject
The last fifty years has seen a worldwide trend toward constitutional democracy. But can constitutionalism become truly global?
Relying on historical examples of successfully implanted constitutional regimes, ranging from the older experiences in the United States and France to the relatively recent ones in Germany, Spain and South Africa, Michel Rosenfeld sheds light on the range of conditions necessary for the emergence, continuity and adaptability of a viable constitutional identity - citizenship, nationalism, multiculturalism, and human rights being important elements.
The Identity of the Constitutional Subject is the first systematic analysis of the concept, drawing on philosophy, psychoanalysis, political theory and law from a comparative perspective to explore the relationship between the ideal of constitutionalism and the need to construct a common constitutional identity that is distinct from national, cultural, ethnic or religious identity.
The Identity of the Constitutional Subject will be of interest to students and scholars in law, legal and political philosophy, political science, multicultural studies, international relations and US politics.
eBook
Worse Than Nothing
Why originalism is a flawed, incoherent, and dangerously
ideological method of constitutional interpretation
Originalism, the view that the meaning of a constitutional
provision is fixed when it is adopted, was once the fringe theory
of a few extremely conservative legal scholars but is now a
well-accepted mode of constitutional interpretation. Three of the
Supreme Court's nine justices explicitly embrace the originalist
approach, as do increasing numbers of judges in the lower courts.
Noted legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky gives a comprehensive
analysis of the problems that make originalism unworkable as a
method of constitutional interpretation. He argues that the framers
themselves never intended constitutional interpretation to be an
inflexible and shows how it is often impossible to know what the
\"original intent\" of any particular provision was. Perhaps worst of
all, though its supporters tout it as a politically neutral and
objective method, originalist interpretation tends to disappear
when its results fail to conform to modern conservative ideology.
eBook
The common law constitution
\"The law is not a science, for its purpose is not to find out natural facts. It is an art as architecture is an art: its function is practical, but it is enhanced by such qualities as elegance, economy and clarity. The law has two practical purposes: first, to require, forbid or penalise forms of conduct between citizen and citizen, and citizen and State; secondly, to provide formal rules for classes of human activity whose fulfilment would otherwise be confused, uncertain or ineffective. Laws in the former category include every provision for a remedy\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
The Constitution's gift
This authoritative study considers all aspects of the European Union's distinctive constitution since its inception. A unique political animal, the EU has given rise to important constitutional conundrums and paradoxes that John Erik Fossum and Agustín José Menéndez explore in detail. The authors consider the process of forging the EU's constitution and the set of fundamental norms that define the institutional structure, the decision-making procedures, and the foundations of the Union's democratic legitimacy. Their analysis illuminates the distinctive features of the EU's pluralist constitutional construct but also the interesting parallels to the Canadian constitutional experience and provides the tools to understand the Union's development, especially during the Laeken (2001–2005) and Lisbon (2007–2009) processes of constitutional reform. The authors' original theory of constitutional synthesis captures the distinctive traits of the European Union as a polity. It explains why and how the European Communities were established as the first constitutional union of constitutional states wherein integration would be steered by law, not power politics or imperialism. Similarly, it presents the European Union as one of the few examples of a polity that has transcended the paradigm of the nation-state (and perhaps even that of the state). Locating the substance and process of Lisbon in its proper constitutional context, Fossum and Menéndez explain why this should be seen as a new beginning of the Union's constitutional season, not its end. Offering the first history of European constitutional law that is both theoretically informed and normatively grounded, their book will be essential reading for all readers interested in the process and theory of European integration.
eBook