Method and Culture in American Constitutional Law: A Critique of Proportionality and Constitutional Culture

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-158
Author(s):  
A. Shinar
2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 547-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Vespaziani

European integration has forced constitutional law scholars to abandon the perspective of methodological nationalism. Prior to the emergence of the interpretative problems raised by the intersection of domestic and European law, the dominant legal paradigm conceived of “constitution” and “state” as two inseparable terms. With the intensification of European integration and economic globalization, many different constitutionalist interpretations have emerged which all share a belief in the State's loss of centrality, such as post-, supra- and transnational constitutionalism, constitutionalism without the state and multilevel constitutionalism.


2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-594
Author(s):  
David F. Holland

Various students of constitutional law have proposed a negative relationship between the possibility of formal amendment and recourse to informal construction. They suggest that if formal amendatory appeal to the sovereign People seems excessively difficult, a constitutional culture will more readily tolerate expansive interpretations or simple political action as mechanisms of change and clarification. Conversely, if the processes of amendment sufficiently allow the People to clarify or alter their own original charter, a constitutional culture will manifest less willingness to let judges and politicians put words in their mouths. The basic thrust of such constitutional logic is that, where reasonably possible, sovereigns will speak for themselves.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (100) ◽  
pp. 1169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Tomás Mallén

Resumen:El presente artículo examina críticamente la decisión histórica de retirada de la UE adoptada en el Reino Unido en el referéndum del Brexit de 23 de junio de 2016, desde una perspectiva de Derecho Constitucional Europeo. En efecto, se hace hincapié en el impacto negativo del Brexit en la construcción de una Europa de los derechos humanos. Desde este punto de vista, se destaca la permanente actitud vacilante del Reino Unido entre el reclamo de la supremacía británica y la necesidad de fortalecer una cultura constitucional europea común, teniendo en cuenta las dinámicas de la «adhesión» y de la «exclusión parcial» tanto en relación con la UE como con el Consejo de Europa y sus principales instrumentos de derechos humanos. Por otra parte, el artículo somete a análisis las inconsistencias del «Libro Blanco del Brexit» presentado como documento oficial del Gobierno británico en el campo de los derechos fundamentales. En fin, se concluye que el Brexit puede ser una decisión histórica equivocada que debilita la cultura constitucional británica y, correlativamente, una oportunidad para que los demás Estados miembros de la UE optimicen el proceso de integración europea y la calidad de sus propios regímenes democráticos.Summary:I. Introduction: the Brexit as a result of the eurosceptic british constitutionalism. II. The United Kingdom as a promoter (paradoxically) of a comprehensive Europe of rights. 1. The emblematic constitution in London of the Council of Europe. 2. The late assumption of the basic standards of European rights culture. III. The initial exclusion and successive british exceptions to the european rights community. 1. The EFTA and the promotion of the integrated Europe of rights, without integrating it. 2. Partial exceptions on rights in the revisions of the European Treaties. 3. The total amendment to the Europe of rights: rejection of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. IV. The Brexit road map as an abandonment of the European constitutional order of rights. 1. Distancing from the European catalog of rights. 2. Disregard for the CJEU. 3. The road map at the crossroads: the thin frontier between the European Union and the Council of Europe. V. Final thoughts: the commitment to the strengthening of a Europe of rights, despite Brexit.Abstract:This essay critically examines the historical decision of withdrawal from the EU adopted in United Kingdom in the Brexit referendum of 23 June 2016 under a European Constitutional Law perspective. Indeed, the focus is put on the negative impact of the Brexit in building a Europe of human rights. From this point of view, the author highlights the United Kingdom’s permanent hesitation between a claim for the British supremacy and a need for strengthening a Common European Constitutional culture, by taking into account the dynamics of either «accession» or «partial out-puts» in relation to both the EU and the Council of Europe and their main human rights instruments. On the other hand, the paper submits to scrutiny the inconsistencies of the British Government’s official «Brexit White Paper» in the field of fundamental rights. The author concludes that the Brexit might be a wrong historic decision weakening the British Constitutional culture and, correlatively, an opportunity for the other EU Member States to optimize the European integration process as well as the quality of their own democratic regimes. 


Author(s):  
W. Elliot Bulmer

The rise of the Scottish national movement has been accompanied by the emergence of distinct constitutional ideas, claims and arguments, which may affect constitutional design in any future independent Scotland. Drawing on the fields of constitutional theory, comparative constitutional law, and Scottish studies, this book examines the historical trajectory of the constitutional question in Scotland and analyses the influences and constraints on the constitutional imagination of the Scottish national movement, in terms of both the national and international contexts. It identifies an emerging Scottish nationalist constitutional tradition that is distinct from British constitutional orthodoxies but nevertheless corresponds to broad global trends in constitutional thought and design. Much of the book is devoted to the detailed exposition and comparative analysis of the draft constitution for an independent Scotland published by the SNP in 2002. The 2014 draft interim Constitution presented by the Scottish Government is also examined, and the two texts are contrasted to show the changing nature of the SNP’s constitutional policy: from liberal-procedural constitutionalism in pursuit of a more inclusive polity, to a more populist and majoritarian constitutionalism.


Author(s):  
Lucas A. Powe Jr.

Texas has created more constitutional law than any other state. In any classroom nationwide, any basic constitutional law course can be taught using nothing but Texas cases. That, however, understates the history and politics behind the cases. Beyond representing all doctrinal areas of constitutional law, Texas cases deal with the major issues of the nation. This book charts the rich and pervasive development of Texas-inspired constitutional law. From voting rights to railroad regulations, school finance to capital punishment, poverty to civil liberty, this book provides a window into the relationship between constitutional litigation and ordinary politics at the Texas Supreme Court, illuminating how all of the fiercest national divides over what the Constitution means took shape in Texas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-97
Author(s):  
Sarip Sarip ◽  
Nur Rahman ◽  
Rohadi Rohadi

This article aims to explore the relationship between the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) and the Ministry of Villages (Kemendes) from theconstitutional law and state administrative law point of view.The second concerns of this research is the disharmony and problem between the two ministries.From the constitutional law point of view, it turns out that what the Ministry of Home Affairs is doing, is closer to the object of its discussion. The method used in this research is normative legal research bycomparingthe constitutional law and state administrative law to obtain clarity regarding the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Village. The result shows that the Ministry of Village approached the science of state administrative law, namely to revive or give spirits to the village. Disharmonization began to exist since the inception of the Ministry of Village. The root of disharmony itself was the improper application of constitutional foundations in the formation of the Village Law. It would be better if the government reassess the constitutional foundation for the village.


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