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Author: Stefan Voigt Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
There is growing evidence that economic freedom enhances economic growth. In order to safeguard economic freedom, integrating economic rights into the constitution almost seems to suggest itself. Constitutional rules, though, are not self-enforcing and thus suffer credibility problems. Many constitutional economists argue that the inadequacy of the constitutional document is a major reason for the unsatisfactory development of societies in terms of political stability and economic growth. In this paper, it is argued that there are extra-constitutional conditions on which the enforceability of constitutional provisions depend. Starting with the observation that many Latin American countries largely copied the U.S. Constitution but did not experience a similar development, three possible causes for the low enforcement of constitutions are analyzed: (1) the possible relevance of individual attitudes, (2) the possible relevance of organized interest groups, and (3) the possible relevance of "constitutional culture". With regard to the first possible cause, it is argued that if certain individual attitudes are absent, chances for enforcement of constitutions formally compatible with the rule of law are slim. With regard to the second possible cause, it is argued that chances that a rule of constitutional law will be enforced depend on the presence of a sufficiently large number of organized interest groups with sufficiently heterogeneous interests that command a considerable threat potential. A paradox thus evolves: interest groups are needed in order to maintain the rule of law; simultaneously, their existence threatens its maintenance to the degree to which they are successful in their rent seeking endeavors. With regard to the third possible cause, a distinction is made between two constitutional cultures, one in which the constitution is conceptualized as a "book of hopes" and another where it is seen as a legal document to be enforced.
Author: Stefan Voigt Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
There is growing evidence that economic freedom enhances economic growth. In order to safeguard economic freedom, integrating economic rights into the constitution almost seems to suggest itself. Constitutional rules, though, are not self-enforcing and thus suffer credibility problems. Many constitutional economists argue that the inadequacy of the constitutional document is a major reason for the unsatisfactory development of societies in terms of political stability and economic growth. In this paper, it is argued that there are extra-constitutional conditions on which the enforceability of constitutional provisions depend. Starting with the observation that many Latin American countries largely copied the U.S. Constitution but did not experience a similar development, three possible causes for the low enforcement of constitutions are analyzed: (1) the possible relevance of individual attitudes, (2) the possible relevance of organized interest groups, and (3) the possible relevance of "constitutional culture". With regard to the first possible cause, it is argued that if certain individual attitudes are absent, chances for enforcement of constitutions formally compatible with the rule of law are slim. With regard to the second possible cause, it is argued that chances that a rule of constitutional law will be enforced depend on the presence of a sufficiently large number of organized interest groups with sufficiently heterogeneous interests that command a considerable threat potential. A paradox thus evolves: interest groups are needed in order to maintain the rule of law; simultaneously, their existence threatens its maintenance to the degree to which they are successful in their rent seeking endeavors. With regard to the third possible cause, a distinction is made between two constitutional cultures, one in which the constitution is conceptualized as a "book of hopes" and another where it is seen as a legal document to be enforced.
Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
The Cato Institute, a public policy research foundation in Washington, D.C., presents an article entitled "Making Constitutions Work: Conditions for Maintaining the Rule of Law," by Stefan Voigt. The article was published in the Fall 1998 issue of "The Cato Journal." The author discusses factors affecting to what degree a constitution is enforced. Voigt details institutional approaches that seek to explain the low per capita income of Latin American societies and less developed countries more generally.
Author: Winluck Wahiu Publisher: ISBN: Category : Constitutional law Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
"A Practical Guide to Constitution Building provides an essential foundation for understanding constitutions and constitution building. Full of world examples of ground-breaking agreements and innovative provisions adopted during processes of constitutional change, the Guide offers a wide range of examples of how constitutions develop and how their development can establish and entrench democratic values. Beyond comparative examples, the Guide contains in-depth analysis of key components of constitutions and the forces of change that shape them. The Guide analyzes the adoption of the substantive elements of a new constitution by looking at forces for the aggregation or dissemination of governmental power, and forces for greater legalization or politicization of governmental power, and examining how these forces influence the content of the constitution. It urges practitioners to look carefully at the forces at play within their individual contexts in order to better understand constitutional dynamics and play a role in shaping a constitution that will put into place a functioning democratic government and foster lasting peace."--
Author: Goodwin Liu Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0199752834 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 274
Book Description
Chief Justice John Marshall argued that a constitution "requires that only its great outlines should be marked [and] its important objects designated." Ours is "intended to endure for ages to come, and consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs." In recent years, Marshall's great truths have been challenged by proponents of originalism and strict construction. Such legal thinkers as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia argue that the Constitution must be construed and applied as it was when the Framers wrote it. In Keeping Faith with the Constitution, three legal authorities make the case for Marshall's vision. They describe their approach as "constitutional fidelity"--not to how the Framers would have applied the Constitution, but to the text and principles of the Constitution itself. The original understanding of the text is one source of interpretation, but not the only one; to preserve the meaning and authority of the document, to keep it vital, applications of the Constitution must be shaped by precedent, historical experience, practical consequence, and societal change. The authors range across the history of constitutional interpretation to show how this approach has been the source of our greatest advances, from Brown v. Board of Education to the New Deal, from the Miranda decision to the expansion of women's rights. They delve into the complexities of voting rights, the malapportionment of legislative districts, speech freedoms, civil liberties and the War on Terror, and the evolution of checks and balances. The Constitution's framers could never have imagined DNA, global warming, or even women's equality. Yet these and many more realities shape our lives and outlook. Our Constitution will remain vital into our changing future, the authors write, if judges remain true to this rich tradition of adaptation and fidelity.
Author: American Bar Association. House of Delegates Publisher: American Bar Association ISBN: 9781590318737 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 216
Book Description
The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.
Author: David A. Strauss Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0199703698 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 171
Book Description
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once remarked that the theory of an evolving, "living" Constitution effectively "rendered the Constitution useless." He wanted a "dead Constitution," he joked, arguing it must be interpreted as the framers originally understood it. In The Living Constitution, leading constitutional scholar David Strauss forcefully argues against the claims of Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Robert Bork, and other "originalists," explaining in clear, jargon-free English how the Constitution can sensibly evolve, without falling into the anything-goes flexibility caricatured by opponents. The living Constitution is not an out-of-touch liberal theory, Strauss further shows, but a mainstream tradition of American jurisprudence--a common-law approach to the Constitution, rooted in the written document but also based on precedent. Each generation has contributed precedents that guide and confine judicial rulings, yet allow us to meet the demands of today, not force us to follow the commands of the long-dead Founders. Strauss explores how judicial decisions adapted the Constitution's text (and contradicted original intent) to produce some of our most profound accomplishments: the end of racial segregation, the expansion of women's rights, and the freedom of speech. By contrast, originalism suffers from fatal flaws: the impossibility of truly divining original intent, the difficulty of adapting eighteenth-century understandings to the modern world, and the pointlessness of chaining ourselves to decisions made centuries ago. David Strauss is one of our leading authorities on Constitutional law--one with practical knowledge as well, having served as Assistant Solicitor General of the United States and argued eighteen cases before the United States Supreme Court. Now he offers a profound new understanding of how the Constitution can remain vital to life in the twenty-first century.
Author: Maurice Adams Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1316883256 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 559
Book Description
Rule of law and constitutionalist ideals are understood by many, if not most, as necessary to create a just political order. Defying the traditional division between normative and positive theoretical approaches, this book explores how political reality on the one hand, and constitutional ideals on the other, mutually inform and influence each other. Seventeen chapters from leading international scholars cover a diverse range of topics and case studies to test the hypothesis that the best normative theories, including those regarding the role of constitutions, constitutionalism and the rule of law, conceive of the ideal and the real as mutually regulating.
Author: Tom Ginsburg Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1107047668 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 283
Book Description
This volume explores the form and function of constitutions in countries without the fully articulated institutions of limited government.
Author: Publisher: ISBN: 9789213622513 Category : Civil rights Languages : en Pages : 144
Book Description
This publication is designed to assist United Nations staff who provide human rights advice to States, which undertake to amend an existing constitution or write a new one. It should also be of use to States that undertake constitutional reform, including political leaders, policymakers, legislators and those entrusted to draft constitutional amendments or a new constitution. Further this publication should also facilitate advocacy efforts by civil society to ensure that human rights are properly reflected in constitutional amendments or new constitutions. Finally, this publication, along with the international human rights instruments, should not only provide a standard to measure whether constitutional amendments or a new constitution has appropriately reflected human rights and fundamental freedoms, but also assist in evaluating whether the processes used in constitutional reform are consistent with international procedural norms"--Introduction, page 1.
Author: Stefan Voigt
Author: Stefan Voigt
Author: 
Author: Winluck Wahiu
Author: Goodwin Liu
Author: American Bar Association. House of Delegates
Author: David A. Strauss
Author: Maurice Adams
Author: John V. Sullivan
Author: Tom Ginsburg
Author: