Abstract
This review essay takes an in-depth look at the most recent addition to the Oppenheim family, a two-volume work on the law and practice of the United Nations, prepared by Rosalyn Higgins and a dream team composed of some of her former students. The essay not only zooms in on the merits of the work but also aims to place it in context in a changing world, wistfully noting a little nostalgia (on the side of the reviewer as well as that of the authors perhaps) for, well, the days of wine and roses.
This review essay challenges three main claims about originalism in American legal thought. While it affirms that originalism could be the Law of a legal system, it first challenges the mainstream idea that American originalism is the paradigmatic case in theory and in practice. Second, the essay confronts the normative justification that originalism ensures democracy based on the rule of law. Third, it interrogates the dichotomy between living constitutionalism and originalism regarding the use of history by arguing that originalism is a form of hegemony. The case study analysed in this article is Israeli legal thought and practice after the enactment of the 1992 Basic Laws, with the focus on the right of equality.
The Days of Wine and Roses