Constitutional Theory

What underlies this development? In this concise and highly engaging work, Federal Appeals Court Judge and noted author (From Brown to Bakke) J. Harvie Wilkinson argues that America's most brilliant legal minds have launched a set of cosmic constitutional theories that, for all their value, are undermining self-governance.

This book examines the nature and role of the many conventions which, rather than laws, are instrumental in determining many important questions of Government behaviour in Britain and other Commonwealth countries.

The need for innovative thinking about alternative constitutional experiences is evident, and readers of Comparative Constitutional Theory will find in its pages a compendium of original, theory-driven essays. The authors use a variety of theoretical perspectives to explore the diversity of global constitutional experience in a post-1989 world prominently marked by momentous transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, by multiple constitutional revolutions and devolutions, by the increased penetration of international law into national jurisdictions, and by the enhancement of supra-national institutions of governance.

This work can be used as a supplement in law school constitutional law courses, or as a text for a course in constitutional theory. It first examines current influential theories of the Constitution, then examines various proposals for interpreting the Constitution, and then covers judicial review. Other chapters correspond with the major topics covered in constitutional law casebooks. The authors ask what and whose purposes are served by existing rules, and inquire whether some other organization is preferable. The selections take opposing positions on each subject, to make students aware of existing conflicts and to facilitate class discussion.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Note on translations and references -- List of abbreviations -- 1 Introduction -- Schmitt and Derrida -- Constitutional theory -- Reading Schmitt -- Sequence and overview of chapters -- 2 The concept of the political -- A. Polémios -- Introduction -- Plato -- Schmitt -- Freud -- Heidegger -- The structure of the political -- B. Partisan -- Introduction -- Criteria -- The question of technology -- Philosophy and the Acheron -- The brother as double -- Woman as the absolute partisan -- Today's terror and the structure of the political -- C. Self -- Introduction -- Defining man: nakedness -- Stirner and his ego -- Modern technology -- Being-placed-in-question -- Self-deception -- Descartes and the self as enemy -- Hegel and the enemy -- Echo -- The concept of the political -- 3 Constituent power -- Introduction -- Political unity -- Political theology -- Fear and the Leviathan -- Demos without sovereignty -- Conclusion -- 4 Identity and representation -- Introduction -- The formation of identity -- Representation reconceived -- Conclusion -- 5 The concept of the constitution -- A. Khōra -- Introduction -- Derrida's reading of the Timaeus -- Khōra and the political -- Constitutions as giving place -- B. Crypt -- Introduction -- The Wolf Man -- The Wolf Man's crypt -- Constitution, memory and trauma -- 6 Human rights -- Introduction -- Freedom -- Equality -- Living together -- 7 State, Gro[beta]raum, nomos -- Introduction -- Nomos -- Man, space, nomos -- Conclusion -- 8 Conclusion -- Schmitt 'before' Derrida -- Derrida reading Schmitt -- Schmitt 'after' Derrida -- Bibliography -- Index

This book departs from the 'statist' imagination by suggesting the EU is a federal union of states, or a federation. Dedicated to the constitutional theory of federalism, this book gives the strengths and weaknesses of a federation as a political form, its histories, and current perils for the EU.

David Beatty draws on more than twenty years' teaching experience to produce a comprehensive introduction to the basic rules in constitutional law, accessible to law and non-law students alike. He reviews the leading cases handed down by the Supreme Court of Canada and the Privy Council concerning the original BNA Act of 1867 and the Canadian Charter of Rights enacted in 1982. As well, Beatty reviews many of the most important decisions made by other courts around the world and analyses the function judges and courts perform in liberal democratic societies when they enforce written constitutions including bills of rights. The initial chapter introduces the reader to the subject of constitutional law – what it is all about, what its function is, and how it interacts with the constitutional text. The book goes on to examine Canadian federalism law and the Supreme Court of Canada's experience in the first decade in the life of the Charter of Rights. Beatty also examines significant human rights cases decided by the major courts around the world, in order to illustrate how the same principles and methods of reasoning are used to resolve disputes about the validity of laws no matter what the issue is or where it arises. The book concludes by showing how a theory of constitutional law which emphasizes the social duties which politicians must respect rather than individual rights should be responsive to the concerns of those who are more sceptical about the virtues of law and the courts as well as those who fear the cultural imperialism of western legal concepts. Beatty proposes a radically new way to think about the idea of ‘rights,’ one which emphasizes the social duties that are inherent in every conception of rights. The book argues that by reorienting our thinking about what rights and the rule of law are all about, it is easier to see that rather than being in conflict or tension with each other, democratic decision making and judicial review are supportive of a common set of values and ideals.

What sort of methods are best suited to understanding constitutional doctrines and practices? Should we look to lawyers and legal methods alone, or should we draw upon other disciplines such as history, sociology, political theory, and moral philosophy? Should we study constitutions in isolation or in a comparative context? To what extent must constitutional methods be sensitive to empirical data about the functioning of legal practice? Can ideal theory aid our understanding of real constitutions? This volume brings together constitutional experts from around the world to address these types of questions through topical events and challenges such as Brexit, administrative law reforms, and the increasing polarisations in law, politics, and constitutional scholarship. Importantly, it investigates the ways in which we can ensure that constitutional scholars do not talk past each other despite their persistent - and often fierce - disagreements. In so doing, it aims systematically to re-examine the methodology of constitutional theory.