Download or read book Rights and Democracy written by Henk Botha and published by AFRICAN SUN MeDIA. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twelve essays in this book pay tribute to senior Harvard law professor Frank Michelman whose thinking ? and input ? on Constitutional Law has made a great contribution to constitutional development in South Africa. These essays are the work of some of the best practical and academic legal minds in this country and, given South Africa?s recent successes in this field, represent an advanced position in constitutional thinking in the world.
Download or read book Governmental Powers written by Corey L. Brettschneider and published by Aspen Publishing. This book was released on 2015-01-28 with total page 1248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Governmental Powers: Cases and Readings in Constitutional Law and American Democracy, written by prominent scholar and professor of constitutional law and political theory, Corey Brettschneider, explores the division, enumeration, and roles of the governmental powers established under the U.S. Constitution and the controversies arising from that system in the context of a changing American society. Like its parent volume, Constitutional Law and American Democracy, this text offers a wealth of highly focused case excerpts and interdisciplinary readings dealing with today s most salient debates. These carefully selected readings and cases focus on high-interest topics, including the nature and justification of judicial review, federalism, and separation of powers, and work together to create a nuanced view of key political and constitutional issues. Grounded in precedent, constitutional theory, and history, this bold work explores urgent issues of current debate and controversy making Governmental Powers fun to read and to teach. The clear, well-reasoned writing frequently challenges and always engages. A dynamic book drawing on a wealth of sources, Governmental Powers: Cases and Readings in Constitutional Law and American Democracy, features: An organization linking the history of the Constitution, constitutional law, and the structure of the federal government to contemporary issues and controversies A wealth of primary sources, including case excerpts, concurring and dissenting opinions, law journal and interdisciplinary articles, and published letters A new chapter on the nature and implications of the Supreme Court s 2012 decision regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act A focused selection of cases conveying a nuanced perspective on the Constitution and the political and constitutional disputes that have shaped its meaning Exposure to legal argumentation through astutely selected and edited readings from noted scholars and theorists Coverage spanning the history and development of constitutional law up to the present day, with ample background for considering the big-picture questions of constitutional doctrine and the Supreme Court s role A stimulating balance of foundational and cutting-edge topical coverage that doesn t sidestep provocative or controversial subject matter Overviews in each chapter introducing the constitutional arguments, chapter readings, and cases Discussion questions promoting comprehension, analysis, and classroom discourse Teachers of constitutional law have long awaited a text like this. Brettschneider blends the most important pertinent statements of political and legal theory with skillful excerpts from the major constitutional cases on governmental powers, civil rights, and civil liberties. Brettschneider s insightful commentaries make the text all the richer. Rogers M. Smith, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
Download or read book Creating a Constitution written by Federica Carugati and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-08-20 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive account of how the Athenian constitution was created and how political and economic goals that were normally associated with Western developed countries were once achieved through different institutional arrangements--with lessons for contemporary constitution-building.ding.
Download or read book The Making of Constitutional Democracy written by Paolo Sandro and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-01-27 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book addresses a palpable, yet widely neglected, tension in legal discourse. In our everyday legal practices – whether taking place in a courtroom, classroom, law firm, or elsewhere – we routinely and unproblematically talk of the activities of creating and applying the law. However, when legal scholars have analysed this distinction in their theories (rather than simply assuming it), many have undermined it, if not dismissed it as untenable. The book considers the relevance of distinguishing between law-creation and law-application and how this transcends the boundaries of jurisprudential enquiry. It argues that such a distinction is also a crucial component of political theory. For if there is no possibility of applying a legal rule that was created by a different institution at a previous moment in time, then our current constitutional-democratic frameworks are effectively empty vessels that conceal a power relationship between public authorities and citizens that is very different from the one on which constitutional democracy is grounded. After problematising the most relevant objections in the literature, the book presents a comprehensive defence of the distinction between creation and application of law within the structure of constitutional democracy. It does so through an integrated jurisprudential methodology, which combines insights from different disciplines (including history, anthropology, political science, philosophy of language, and philosophy of action) while also casting new light on long-standing issues in public law, such as the role of legal discretion in the law-making process and the scope of the separation of powers doctrine. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com.
Download or read book The Supreme Court and Constitutional Democracy written by John Agresto and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 1984 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the growth of the power of the Supreme Court and analyzes the separation of judicial and congressional functions.
Download or read book Constitutional Development in the South Atlantic States 1776 1860 written by Fletcher Melvin Green and published by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.. This book was released on 2008 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Democracy Elections and Constitutionalism in Africa written by Charles M. Fombad and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-03-18 with total page 624 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The third wave of democracy that reached African shores at the end of the Cold War brought with it a dramatic decline from 1990 onwards in dictatorships, military regimes, one-party governments, and presidents for life. Multiparty democracy was at the core of the constitutional revolutions that swept through most of Africa in those watershed years. However, that wave is either losing momentum or receding - or being reversed in its entirety. This volume examines democracy and elections in Africa, a focus motivated by two concerns. First, after 30 years it is important to take stock of the state of constitutional democracy on the continent. The democratic gains of the 1990s and 2000s seem to be falling by the wayside, with the evidence mounting that regimes are concealing authoritarianism under the veneer of elections, doing so in an international context where populist regimes are on the rise and free and fair multiparty elections are consequently no longer a given. It is becoming a battle to protect and retain constitutional democracy. The second reason for this volume's focus on democracy and elections is that multiparty democracy is essential for the proper functioning of the state in addressing the major problems facing Africa - internal conflict, inequality and lack of development, and poor governance and corruption. The focus of this volume is thus on how competitive politics or multiparty democracy can be realized and how, through competition, such politics could lead to better policy and practice outcomes.
Download or read book Democracy and Constitutions written by Allan C. Hutchinson and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bold and unconventional, this book advocates for an institutional turn-about in the relationship between democracy and constitutionalism.
Download or read book The Supreme Court and Constitutional Democracy written by John Agresto and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2016-10-15 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Supreme Court and Constitutional Democracy John Agresto traces the development of American judicial power, paying close attention to what he views as the very real threat of judicial supremacy. Agresto examines the role of the judiciary in a democratic society and discusses the proper place of congressional power in constitutional issues. Agresto argues that while the separation of congressional and judicial functions is a fundamental tenet of American government, the present system is not effective in maintaining an appropriate balance of power. He shows that continued judicial expansion, especially into the realm of public policy, might have severe consequences for America's national life and direction, and offers practical recommendations for safeguarding against an increasingly powerful Supreme Court. John Agresto's controversial argument, set in the context of a historical and theoretical inquiry, will be of great interest to scholars and students in political science and law, especially American constitutional law and political theory.
Download or read book Democratic Governance Law and Development in Africa written by Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-12-10 with total page 723 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume analyses democratic governance, the rule of law and development in Africa. It is unique and timely. First, the theme and sub-themes were carefully selected to solicit quality chapters from academics, practitioners and graduate students on topical and contemporary issues in constitutional law, human rights, and democratic governance in Africa. The chapters were subjected to a single-blind peer review by experts and scholars in the relevant fields to ensure that high quality submissions are included. Due to the dearth of knowledge and studies on the chosen thematic areas, the publication will remain relevant after several years due to the timeless themes it covers. In this regard, this edited volume audits the progress of democratic consolidation, rule of law and development in Ghana with selected case studies from other African countries. This book is intended for higher education institutions (universities, institutes and centres), public libraries, general academics, practitioners and students of law, democracy, human rights and political science, especially those interested in African affairs.
Download or read book Democratic Government and Constitutional Jurisdiction written by Clèmerson Merlin Clève and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-01-24 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together a series of articles produced in recent years and contains elements that can provide a panoramic view of the most prominent discussions in constitutional law in our time. The book is divided in five main parts, each of them is an article and addresses issues related to constitutional law, democracy and institutions. It brings about the challenges that Brazil must confront as part of the process of constructing a free, just and compassionate society, this book is intended to be an additional tool for improving the country’s institutions. In the inevitable presence of doubts and dreams, we seek to offer alternatives in order to ensure that this project continues.
Download or read book Constitutional Law Democracy and Development written by Douglas Karekona Singiza and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-02-21 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uganda, like many African countries in the 1990s, adopted decentralisation as a state reform measure after many years of civil strife and political conflicts, by transferring powers and functions to district councils. The decision to transfer powers and functions to district councils was, in the main, linked to the quest for democracy and development within the broader context of the nation state. This book’s broader aim is to examine whether the legal and policy framework of decentralisation produces a system of governance that better serves the greater objectives of local democracy, local development and accommodation of ethnicity. Specifically, the book pursues one main aim: to examine whether indeed the existing legal framework ensures the smooth devolution process that is needed for decentralised governance to succeed. In so doing, the book seeks, overall, to offer lessons that are critically important not only for Uganda but any other developing nation that has adopted decentralisation as a state-restructuring strategy. The book uses a desk-top research method by reviewing Uganda’s decentralisation legal and policy frameworks.
Download or read book The Struggle for Constitutional Power written by Tamir Moustafa and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-06-11 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For nearly three decades, scholars and policymakers have placed considerable stock in judicial reform as a panacea for the political and economic turmoil plaguing developing countries. Courts are charged with spurring economic development, safeguarding human rights, and even facilitating transitions to democracy. How realistic are these expectations, and in what political contexts can judicial reforms deliver their expected benefits? This book addresses these issues through an examination of the politics of the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court, the most important experiment in constitutionalism in the Arab world. The Egyptian regime established a surprisingly independent constitutional court to address a series of economic and administrative pathologies that lie at the heart of authoritarian political systems. Although the Court helped the regime to institutionalize state functions and attract investment, it simultaneously opened new avenues through which rights advocates and opposition parties could challenge the regime. The book challenges conventional wisdom and provides insights into perennial questions concerning the barriers to institutional development, economic growth, and democracy in the developing world.
Download or read book Rot and Revival written by Anthony Michael Kreis and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2024-06-04 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rot and Revival is one of the first scholarly works to comprehensively theorize and document how politics make American constitutional law and how the courts affect the path of partisan politics. Rejecting the idea that the Constitution's significance and interpretation can be divorced from contemporary political realities, Anthony Michael Kreis explains how American constitutional law reflects the ideological commitments of dominant political coalitions, the consequences of major public policy choices, and the influences of intervening social movements. Drawing on rich historical research and political science methodologies, Kreis convincingly demonstrates that the courts have never been—and cannot be—institutions lying outside the currents of national politics.
Download or read book Constitutional Government in the United States written by Woodrow Wilson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-28 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the genuine classics of American political science literature, Constitutional Government in the United States is also a subtle and influential criticism of the American founding fathers produced during the Progressive Era. Wilson's interpretation of the Constitution shaped the thought of scholars and students of American politics. His definition of constitutional government and the place of the United States in the development of constitutional theory continues to shape discourse today. Wilson discusses the three branches of government in the United States, the relation between the states and the federal government and party government in a manner quite distinct from the founding fathers. Constitutional Government has its origins in a series of lectures Wilson delivered at Columbia University in 1907. It is carefully organized around three separate but mutually supporting arguments. First, is the idea that constitutional government evolves historically from primitive beginnings of the state toward a universal and ideal form. Second, this idea of historical evolution contains within it an analysis of how and where the Constitution fits into the evolutionary process as a whole. Third, the historical thesis itself provides a prescription for bringing American government, and with it the Constitution, into accord with his first principle of the ideal form of modern government.In his new introduction, Sidney A. Pearson explores how, with Constitutional Government in the United States, Wilson helped create a new genre of political writing using the point of view of a literary politician. He discusses Wilson's intention to replace the constitutional argument of the founders with one of his own based on the application of Darwinian metaphor in a political science framework. And he examines the differences between the views launched by Wilson and those set forth by James Madison in The Federalist. This is an essential work for all interested in the evolution of Amer
Download or read book Democracy and Distrust written by John Hart Ely and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1981-08-15 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This powerfully argued appraisal of judicial review may change the face of American law. Written for layman and scholar alike, the book addresses one of the most important issues facing Americans today: within what guidelines shall the Supreme Court apply the strictures of the Constitution to the complexities of modern life? Until now legal experts have proposed two basic approaches to the Constitution. The first, “interpretivism,” maintains that we should stick as closely as possible to what is explicit in the document itself. The second, predominant in recent academic theorizing, argues that the courts should be guided by what they see as the fundamental values of American society. John Hart Ely demonstrates that both of these approaches are inherently incomplete and inadequate. Democracy and Distrust sets forth a new and persuasive basis for determining the role of the Supreme Court today. Ely’s proposal is centered on the view that the Court should devote itself to assuring majority governance while protecting minority rights. “The Constitution,” he writes, “has proceeded from the sensible assumption that an effective majority will not unreasonably threaten its own rights, and has sought to assure that such a majority not systematically treat others less well than it treats itself. It has done so by structuring decision processes at all levels in an attempt to ensure, first, that everyone’s interests will be represented when decisions are made, and second, that the application of those decisions will not be manipulated so as to reintroduce in practice the sort of discrimination that is impermissible in theory.” Thus, Ely’s emphasis is on the procedural side of due process, on the preservation of governmental structure rather than on the recognition of elusive social values. At the same time, his approach is free of interpretivism’s rigidity because it is fully responsive to the changing wishes of a popular majority. Consequently, his book will have a profound impact on legal opinion at all levels—from experts in constitutional law, to lawyers with general practices, to concerned citizens watching the bewildering changes in American law.
Download or read book Abusive Constitutional Borrowing written by Rosalind Dixon and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Law is fast globalizing as a field, and many lawyers, judges and political leaders are engaged in a process of comparative borrowing. But this new form of legal globalization has darksides: it is not just a source of inspiration for those seeking to strengthen and improve democratic institutions and policies. It is increasingly an inspiration - and legitimation device - for those seeking to erode democracy by stealth, under the guise of a form of faux liberal democratic cover. Abusive Constitutional Borrowing: Legal globalization and the subversion of liberal democracy outlines this phenomenon, how it succeeds, and what we can do to prevent it. This book address current patterns of democratic retrenchment and explores its multiple variants and technologies, considering the role of legitimating ideologies that help support different modes of abusive constitutionalism. An important contribution to both legal and political scholarship, this book will of interest to all those working in the legal and political disciplines of public law, constitutional theory, political theory, and political science.
