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The Hollowness Of The Harm Principle, Steven D. Smith
The Hollowness Of The Harm Principle, Steven D. Smith
Steven D. Smith
Among the various instruments in the toolbox of liberalism, the so-called “harm principle,” presented as the central thesis of John Stuart Mill’s classic On Liberty, has been one of the most popular. The harm principle has been widely embraced and invoked in both academic and popular debate about a variety of issues ranging from obscenity to drug regulation to abortion to same-sex marriage, and its influence is discernible in legal arguments and judicial opinions as well. Despite the principle’s apparent irresistibility, this essay argues that the principle is hollow. It is an empty vessel, alluring but without any inherent legal …
Cosmopolitanism And Constitutional Self-Government, Vlad F. Perju
Cosmopolitanism And Constitutional Self-Government, Vlad F. Perju
Vlad Perju
This paper, which was selected for presentation at the 2010 Yale/Stanford Junior Faculty Forum, articulates the theoretical steps by which self-government in a free community of equals leads constitutional analysis outside the boundaries of that political community. Openness to the experiences in self-government of other peoples is commonly assumed to undermine political legitimacy by loosing citizens’ control over their political fate. But is it possible that such openness might in fact render that control more effective? Could it actually enhance political and constitutional legitimacy? This paper articulates and defends the following claims: 1) The legitimacy of a political order is …
The Central American Constitutional Identity.- A Study Of The Constitutional Imitation Phenomenon In The Integration Process Of The Region, Lidia P. Castillo Amaya
The Central American Constitutional Identity.- A Study Of The Constitutional Imitation Phenomenon In The Integration Process Of The Region, Lidia P. Castillo Amaya
Lidia P. Castillo Amaya
This paper will present some preliminary conclusions drawn after conducting the first stage of a research project, which intends to study the constitutional characteristics of the Integration Process of Central America (in its diachronic and synchronic dimension) by means of assessing its legal and extralegal formants in order to verify if its structure and modality are a result of a specific historical and cultural context with elements of originality and innovation; or if they are a mere consequence of a strict “constitutional imitation” of foreign external models (EU) shaped by the interests of the dominant economic elite; or if we …
De La Admiración A La Recepción Crítica: El Apagado Eco De La Codificación Del Derecho Privado Europeo En América Latina, Leysser L. Leon
De La Admiración A La Recepción Crítica: El Apagado Eco De La Codificación Del Derecho Privado Europeo En América Latina, Leysser L. Leon
Leysser L. León
En este artículo se esboza el nuevo posicionamiento de los ordenamientos jurídica de América Latina frente a los proyectos de armonización de las codificaciones civiles europeas. La tesis del Autor es que de una etapa dilatada de importación normativa masiva se ha pasado (y se necesita pasar) a una recepción crítica: con el auxilio de la comparación jurídica, se debe discriminar el material legislativo extranjero, conociéndolo en su origen e informándose sobre su problemática, a fin de evitar la migración de modelos inadecuados para fructificar fuera de su contexto de producción.
Education, Labor Rights, And Incentives: Contract Teacher Cases In The Indian Courts, Varun Gauri, Nick Robinson
Education, Labor Rights, And Incentives: Contract Teacher Cases In The Indian Courts, Varun Gauri, Nick Robinson
Varun Gauri
Since the liberalization of India\'s economy beginning in the early 1990\'s, the government has increasingly employed contract workers to perform various state functions, including in the education sector. Yet, little research has been done to examine how courts have reacted to this shift in government labor policy. This paper looks at all reported cases involving contract teachers in the Indian Supreme Court and four High Courts over the last thirty years. It finds that although almost never explicitly overturning precedent, the judiciary in India has increasingly become less sympathetic to contract teachers demands, particularly at the Supreme Court level. The …
Taking War Seriously: A Model For Constitutional Constraints On The Use Of Force, In Compliance With International Law, Craig Martin
Taking War Seriously: A Model For Constitutional Constraints On The Use Of Force, In Compliance With International Law, Craig Martin
Craig Martin
This article develops an argument for increased constitutional control over the decision to use armed force or engage in armed conflict, as a means of reducing the incidence of illegitimate armed conflict. In particular, the Model would involve three elements: a process-based constitutional incorporation of the principles of international law relating to the use of force (the jus ad bellum regime); a constitutional requirement that the legislature approve any use of force rising above a de minimus level; and an explicit provision for limited judicial review of the decision-making process. The Model is not designed with any one country in …
The Japanese Constitution As Law And The Legitimacy Of The Supreme Court’S Constitutional Decisions: A Response To Matsui, Craig Martin
The Japanese Constitution As Law And The Legitimacy Of The Supreme Court’S Constitutional Decisions: A Response To Matsui, Craig Martin
Craig Martin
This article, from a conference at Washington University School of Law on the Supreme Court of Japan, responds to an article by Shigenori Matsui, “Why is the Japanese Supreme Court is so conservative?” Professor Matsui’s article makes the argument that a significant factor is the extent to which the judges fail to view the Constitution as positive law requiring judicial enforcement. It is novel in its emphasis on an explanation grounded in law, and the decision-making process, rather than the political, institutional, and cultural explanations that are so often offered. In this article, Borrowing from Kermit Roosevelt’s arguments on judicial …