Constitutionalism and a Right to Effective Government?

Constitutionalism and a Right to Effective Government?
Author: Vicki C. Jackson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2022-10-27
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1009178105

Nations around the world are facing various crises of ineffective government. Basic governmental functions—protecting rights, preventing violence, and promoting material well-being—are compromised, leading to declines in general welfare, in the enjoyment of rights, and even in democracy itself. This innovative collection, featuring analyses by leaders in the fields of constitutional law and politics, highlights the essential role of effective government in sustaining democratic constitutionalism. The book explores “effective government” as a right, principle, duty, and interest, situating questions of governance in debates about negative and positive constitutionalism. In addition to providing new conceptual approaches to the connections between rights and governance, the volume also provides novel insights into government institutions, including courts, legislatures, executives, and administrative bodies, as well as the media and political parties. This is an essential volume for anyone interested in constitutionalism, comparative law, governance, democracy, the rule of law, and rights.

Constitutionalism and Democracy

Constitutionalism and Democracy
Author: Jon Elster
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 372
Release: 1988
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780521457217

The eleven essays in this volume, supplemented by an editorial introduction, centre around three overlapping problems. First, why would a society want to limit its own sovereign power by imposing constitutional constraints on democratic decision-making? Second, what are the contributions of democracy and constitutions to efficient government? Third, what are the relations among democracy, constitutionalism, and private property? This comprehensive discussion of the problems inherent in constitutional democracy will be of interest to students in a variety of social sciences. It illuminates particularly the current efforts of many countries, especially in Latin America, to establish stable democratic regimes.

Political Constitutionalism

Political Constitutionalism
Author: Richard Bellamy
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2007-09-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1139467913

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.

Constitutional Self-Government

Constitutional Self-Government
Author: Christopher L. EISGRUBER
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2009-06-30
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0674034465

The author focuses directly on the Constitution's seemingly undemocratic features. He argues that constitutionalism is best regarded not as a constraint upon self-government, but as a crucial ingredient in a complex, non-majoritarian form of democracy.

The Constitution of Freedom

The Constitution of Freedom
Author: András Sajó
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2017-11-04
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0191046035

Constitutional democracy is more fragile and less 'natural' than autocracy. While this may sound surprising to complacent democrats, more and more people find autocracy attractive, because they were never forced to understand or imagine what despotism is. Generations who have lived in stable democracies with the promise that their enviable world will become the global 'normal' find government rule without constitutionalism difficult to conceive. It is difficult, but never too late, to see one's own constitutional system as something that is fragile, or up for grabs and in need of constant attention and care. In this book, Andras Sajo and Renata Uitz explore how constitutionalism protects us and how it might be undone by its own means. Sajo and Uitz's intellectual history of the constitutional ideal is rich in contextual detail and informed by case studies that give an overview of both the theory and practice of constitutionalism worldwide. Classic constitutions are contrasted with twentieth-century and contemporary endeavours, and experimentations in checks and balances. Their endeavour is neither apologetic (and certainly not celebratory), nor purely defensive: this book demonstrates why constitutionalism should continue to matter. Between the rise of populist, anti-constitutional sentiment and the normalization of the apparatus of counter-terrorism, it is imperative that the political communities who seek to sustain democracy as freedom understand the importance of constitutionalism. This book is essential reading for students of law and general readers without prior knowledge of the field, as well as those in politics who believe they know how government works. It shows what is at stake in the debate on constitutionalism.

Constitutional Rights and Powers of the People

Constitutional Rights and Powers of the People
Author: Wayne D. Moore
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2017-03-14
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1400887453

American constitutionalism rests on premises of popular sovereignty, but serious questions remain about how the "people" and their rights and powers fit into the constitutional design. In a book that will radically reorient thinking about the Constitution and its place in the polity, Wayne Moore moves away from an exclusive focus on courts and judges and considers the following queries: Who is included among the people? How are the people politically configured? How may the people act? And how do the people relate to government and other representative structures? Going beyond though not excluding relevant discussions of specific constitutional texts (such as the preamble, articles V and VII, and the ninth, tenth, and fourteenth amendments), Moore examines historical material from the antebellum period, such as the opinions of U.S. Supreme Court justices in the notorious Dred Scott case and significantly different perspectives from the writings and speeches of Frederick Douglass. He also looks at influential thinking from the founding period and examines precedents set during prominent controversies involving the establishment of a national bank, regulations of the economy, and efforts to limit sexual and reproductive choices. The penultimate chapter explores issues raised by claims of state interpretive autonomy, and the conclusion models various dimensions of the constitutional order as a whole. The book offers fresh insights into central problems of constitutional history, theory, and law. Originally published in 1996. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The People Themselves

The People Themselves
Author: Larry Kramer
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 380
Release: 2004
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780195306453

This book makes the radical claim that rather than interpreting the Constitution from on high, the Court should be reflecting popular will--or the wishes of the people themselves.

The Principles of Constitutionalism

The Principles of Constitutionalism
Author: N. W. Barber
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2018-07-25
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0192535684

In this follow-up volume to the critically acclaimed The Constitutional State, N. W. Barber explores how the principles of constitutionalism structure and influence successful states. Constitutionalism is not exclusively a mechanism to limit state powers. An attractive and satisfying account of constitutionalism, and, by derivation, of the state, can only be reached if the principles of constitutionalism are seen as interlocking parts of a broader doctrine. This holistic study of the relationship between the constitutional state and its central principles - sovereignty; the separation of powers; the rule of law; subsidiarity; democracy; and civil society - casts light on long-standing debates over the meaning and implications of constitutionalism. The book provides a concise introduction to constitutionalism and a detailed account of the nature and implications of each of the principles in question. It concludes with an examination of the importance of constitutional principles to the work of judges, legislators, and others involved in the operation and creation of the constitution. The book is essential reading for those seeking a definitive account of constitutionalism and its benefits.

Unstable Constitutionalism

Unstable Constitutionalism
Author: Mark Tushnet
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 415
Release: 2015-09-17
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1107068959

This book examines constitutional law and practice in five South Asian countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Return to Constitutional Government

Return to Constitutional Government
Author: Louis Schlueter
Publisher:
Total Pages: 104
Release: 2010-06-24
Genre:
ISBN: 9781453620793

Return to Constitutional GovernmentRecurrence to constitutional principles for effective government in a free society.The Federal Government is on an exponential growth path with alarming, dangerous potentials creating unsustainable, generational debt. This Book discusses problems with unconstitutional government and why the current political parties will not correct these problems. It defines a way to restore a government that is fiscally constitutional, effective and responsive to the nation's needs. The goal of a Constitutional Independent voter is to return to a constitutionally guided government that restores liberty to the individual, dignity to the legislature and purpose to the ballot box. A practical solution would be to reestablish a fiscally principled Federal Government. A Constitutional Federal Limit Amendment is considered with unique, new checks and balances: Basic effects: Basic disciplines would be created by such an amendment;1. Control of the size and growth of the Federal Government through constitutional budgetary limit restraints.2. Debt reduction or dispersion of excess federal funds in a manner that is nationally equitable and not subject to federal political influence.3. Federal competition for available funds within the budgetary limit will cause program rejustification and the elimination of unnecessary functions.4. The Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars would likely not have been authorized and funded with such an amendment in effect. 5. States rights and constitutional federalism would be reenforced. This fact would provide a strong incentive for states to use their constitutional right to institute a functioning Federal Limit Amendment.