Law Commons^™

Hans Kelsen And The Logic Of Legal Systems, Michael S. Green

Michael S. Green

No abstract provided.

Legal Revolutions: Six Mistakes About Discontinuity In The Legal Order, Michael S. Green

Michael S. Green

A legal revolution occurs when chains of legal dependence rupture-causing one legal system to be replaced by a different and incommensurable legal system. For example, before the French Revolution chains of legal dependence ultimately led to Louis XVI, but after this legal revolution they led to the National Assembly (or the people of France it represented). The very possibility of legal revolutions depends upon laws being structured into legal systems in this fashion. And yet, despite substantial academic interest in legal revolutions, there has been a reluctance to examine the structure that makes them possible. The goal of this Article …

Legal Revolutions: Six Mistakes About Discontinuity In The Legal Order, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

A legal revolution occurs when chains of legal dependence rupture-causing one legal system to be replaced by a different and incommensurable legal system. For example, before the French Revolution chains of legal dependence ultimately led to Louis XVI, but after this legal revolution they led to the National Assembly (or the people of France it represented). The very possibility of legal revolutions depends upon laws being structured into legal systems in this fashion. And yet, despite substantial academic interest in legal revolutions, there has been a reluctance to examine the structure that makes them possible. The goal of this Article …

Hans Kelsen And The Logic Of Legal Systems, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Essential Elements Of Judicial Independence And The Experience Of Pre-Soviet Russia, Thomas E. Plank

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Judicial independence, which first developed in the Anglo-American legal system, is valued by many countries as an important condition for the rule of law. Its existence in any legal system, however, depends on concrete institutional arrangements. In this Article, Professor Plank identifies four institutional elements necessary to establish and maintain an independent judiciary: fixed tenure (with limited exceptions), fixed and adequate compensation, minimum qualifications, and limited civil immunity. The presence of these elements ensures an independent judiciary in many countries. The lack of permanent tenure for judges in most American states, however, raises serious questions about their independence.

To test …

Prosecutorial Control In Canada: The Definition Of Attorney-General In Section 2 Of The Criminal Code, Camille Cameron

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In 1969, as a result of the redefinition of Attorney-General” in section 2 of the Criminal Code, the federal Attorney-General assumed an increased role in criminal prosecutions within the provinces. This new role has resulted in various challenges to the constitutional validity of the amendment — the provinces claim that the new definition is an encroachment upon the administration of justice power given to them by section 92(14) of the British North America Act while the federal government relies on its criminal law power to justify the amendment. The author examines the 1969 amendment in light of sections 91(27) and …