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2008

Democracy

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Institution
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Articles 1 - 29 of 29

Full-Text Articles in Law

Prologue To District Of Columbia Democracy And The Third Branch Of Government, John W. Nields, Timothy J. May Dec 2008

Prologue To District Of Columbia Democracy And The Third Branch Of Government, John W. Nields, Timothy J. May

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Why does the President of the United States appoint the judges of the District of Columbia's local court system? Why is the District of Columbia's local court system funded and overseen by the United States Congress? Why does the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and not the Attorney General for the District of Columbia function as a local prosecutor, prosecuting most D.C. Code crimes in the District of Columbia's courts? The four essays which follow this introduction explore the rich history behind these unusual structural features of the District of Columbia government; they present the arguments for …


Comments On Who Appoints D.C. Judges, Daniel A. Rezneck Dec 2008

Comments On Who Appoints D.C. Judges, Daniel A. Rezneck

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.


Expressive Minimalism And Fuzzy Signals: The Judiciary And The Role Of Law, Michele Goodwin Dec 2008

Expressive Minimalism And Fuzzy Signals: The Judiciary And The Role Of Law, Michele Goodwin

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The proper role of courts engenders significant debate. Yet, what seems better settled is the principle that courts are the place at which the common law is developed. Its genesis and modifications evolve out of the juridical process and when that process becomes encumbered or deferred to the legislature the role of the judiciary is called into question. This essay makes the case that expressive minimalism too often governs the common law judicial approach to biotechnology. The cases visited in this domain test our capacity to understand whether life is appropriately described as being beyond the definition of property, as …


Something To Talk About: Is There A Charter Right To Access Government Information?, Vincent Kazmierski Oct 2008

Something To Talk About: Is There A Charter Right To Access Government Information?, Vincent Kazmierski

Dalhousie Law Journal

Can sections 2(b) and 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms be interpreted to protect a constitutional right of access to government information? The author argues that the constitutional principle of democracy provides a foundation for judicial recognition of such a constitutional right of access even though the inclusion ofan explicit right to access to government information was rejected during the process of drafting the Charter Given that the Supreme Court of Canada's section 2(b) and 3 jurisprudence has been informed by the principle of democracy, the application of the principle may now guide the Court to include …


Constitutionalism And Democracy: An Essay In Honor Of Stanley N. Katz, Irwin P. Stotzky Oct 2008

Constitutionalism And Democracy: An Essay In Honor Of Stanley N. Katz, Irwin P. Stotzky

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.


Modern Constitutional Democracy And Imperialism, James Tully Jul 2008

Modern Constitutional Democracy And Imperialism, James Tully

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

To what extent is the development of modern constitutional democracy as a state form in the West and its spread around the world implicated in western imperialism? This has been a leading question of legal scholarship over the last thirty years. James Tully draws on this scholarship to present a preliminary answer. Part I sets out seven central features of modern constitutional democracy and its corresponding international institutions of law and government. Part II sets out three major imperial roles that these legal and political institutions have played, and continue to play. And finally, Part III surveys ways in which …


The Constitutive Paradox Of Modern Law: A Comment On Tully, Ruth Buchanan Jul 2008

The Constitutive Paradox Of Modern Law: A Comment On Tully, Ruth Buchanan

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This commentary draws out and elaborates upon some of the more challenging aspects of Professor Tully's sophisticated taxonomy of the relationship between modern constitutional forms and constituent powers. Tully's article reveals the historical particularities of these formations, and at the same time encourages the reader to think beyond them, towards the potentially uncategorizable realm of democratic constitutionalism. Yet, how is it possible to use a taxonomy of modern constitutional democracy as a means of understanding what ties in the uncharted territory beyond? This commentary further explores to what extent this paradoxical modern configuration of constituent powers and constitutional forms may …


"Other Worlds Are Actual": Tully On The Imperial Roles Of Modern Constitutional Democracy, Michael Simpson Jul 2008

"Other Worlds Are Actual": Tully On The Imperial Roles Of Modern Constitutional Democracy, Michael Simpson

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The globalization of modern legal and economic practices has not ushered in a state of perpetual peace as Kantians have famously predicted. Rather, it has reinforced the perpetual crises and violence that is today's realm of the political. This article examines James Tully's claim that the formalization of diverse legal traditions into the modular confines of modern constitutions, as nation-states and international taw, is a project of today's imperial hegemony. The global imperialism of modern constitutionalism is one that suppresses the vast multiplicity of existing legal pluralities and, consequently, fuels war and aggression, not perpetual peace. Tully's important analysis of …


Is The Ban On Participation In Political Campaigns By Charities Essential To Their Vitality And Democracy? A Reply To Professor Tobin, Johnny Rex Buckles May 2008

Is The Ban On Participation In Political Campaigns By Charities Essential To Their Vitality And Democracy? A Reply To Professor Tobin, Johnny Rex Buckles

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Democracy And Opportunity: A New Paradigm In Tax Equity, James R. Repetti May 2008

Democracy And Opportunity: A New Paradigm In Tax Equity, James R. Repetti

Vanderbilt Law Review

Academics and policymakers pay little attention to the interaction of a tax system with the objectives of a just government. For example, in the debate about whether the United States should retain an income tax or adopt a consumption tax, most discussions focus on the relative efficiency and equity of the taxes. Proponents of a consumption tax worry that an income tax is inefficient because it burdens investment income. Advocates of an income tax fear that a consumption tax is not equitable because low-income taxpayers consume a greater percentage of their income than wealthy taxpayers. These concerns date at least …


Can Might Make Right? The Use Of Force To Impose Democracy And The Arthurian Dilemma In The Modern Era, Scott Thompson Apr 2008

Can Might Make Right? The Use Of Force To Impose Democracy And The Arthurian Dilemma In The Modern Era, Scott Thompson

Law and Contemporary Problems

US President George W. Bush used force to bring the Taliban to its knees and create a fledgling democracy in Afghanistan, then invaded Iraq with the end goal of establishing a democracy there, as well. Meanwhile, presidential hopeful Barack Obama praised those who built democracy's arsenal to vanquish fascism, and who then built a series of alliances and a world order that would ultimately defeat communism, seeming to extol and vindicate the previous US efforts to impose democracy by force. These two leaders' struggles to nail down a definitive answer on whether force should ever be used to impose democracy …


Taking State Constitution Seriously, Marvin Krislov, Daniel M. Katz Apr 2008

Taking State Constitution Seriously, Marvin Krislov, Daniel M. Katz

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

No abstract provided.


Counterconstitutionalism, Richard Albert Apr 2008

Counterconstitutionalism, Richard Albert

Dalhousie Law Journal

Democratic constitutionalism has often erected a high barrierseparating the citizen from the state. This is paradoxical because the very promise of constitutionalism is to produce precisely the opposite result: to bind the citizen to the state, and to create and cultivate a constitutional culture that is anchored in participatory democracy. The author has a name for this paradoxical state of affairs: counterconstitutionalism. In this article, the author introduces and illustrates the conceptof counterconstitutionalism with reference to billsof rights in constitutional states representing civil and common law traditions on four continents.


Waving Hello To Democratic Renewal, Christine Bell Mar 2008

Waving Hello To Democratic Renewal, Christine Bell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Khanna’s argument is simple. American hegemony and the unipolar world have collapsed—without America noticing. The new world is tri-polar. America must compete with Europe’s soft power influence, and China’s economic power influence. The new global game for the “second world” (Turkey, South America, the former USSR “Stans”) is to play all three superpowers against each other, while pretending to be the friends of all.


The Theocratic Challenge To Constitution Drafting In Post-Conflict States, Ran Hirschl Mar 2008

The Theocratic Challenge To Constitution Drafting In Post-Conflict States, Ran Hirschl

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Moving Beyond Markets And Minimalism: Democracy In The Era Of Globalization, Richard Burchill Jan 2008

Moving Beyond Markets And Minimalism: Democracy In The Era Of Globalization, Richard Burchill

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Democracy as Human Rights: Freedom and Equality in the Age of Globalization by Michael Goodhart. London: Routledge, 2005.


Democracy And Tort Law In America: The Counter-Revolution, Christopher J. Roederer Jan 2008

Democracy And Tort Law In America: The Counter-Revolution, Christopher J. Roederer

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.


Democracy And The Secretary: The Crucial Role Of State Election Administrators In Promoting Accuracy And Access To Democracy, Jocelyn Friedrichs Benson Jan 2008

Democracy And The Secretary: The Crucial Role Of State Election Administrators In Promoting Accuracy And Access To Democracy, Jocelyn Friedrichs Benson

Saint Louis University Public Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Link Between Carolene Products And Griswold: How The Right To Privacy Protects Popular Practices From Democratic Failures, Alan James Kluegel Jan 2008

The Link Between Carolene Products And Griswold: How The Right To Privacy Protects Popular Practices From Democratic Failures, Alan James Kluegel

University of San Francisco Law Review

This Article proposes that there is, in fact, a constitutional doctrine that protects at least some of these anonymous and diffuse interests-the constitutional right to privacy.


Authorizing Subnational Constitutions In Transitional Federal States, Jonathan L. Marshfield Jan 2008

Authorizing Subnational Constitutions In Transitional Federal States, Jonathan L. Marshfield

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Not all federal systems permit their constituent units to adopt constitutions. This Article considers whether, and under what circumstances, subnational constitutions tend to contribute to the volatility or stability of their respective federal systems. By examining the role that subnational constitutions played in South Africa's celebrated democratization, this Article observes that a transitional federal state can increase its flexibility and adaptability by merely authorizing subnational constitutions. The Article concludes that federal systems, particularly those undergoing fundamental change, can be better equipped to manage regime-threatening conflicts and perpetuate a democratic political culture if they permit constituent units to adopt constitutions.


Introduction: Democracy And The Transnational Private Sector, Christiana Ochoa Jan 2008

Introduction: Democracy And The Transnational Private Sector, Christiana Ochoa

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Democracy and the Transnational Private Sector, Symposium. Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, April 12-13, 2007


Bottom-Up Lawmaking: The Private Origins Of Transnational Law, Janet Koven Levit Jan 2008

Bottom-Up Lawmaking: The Private Origins Of Transnational Law, Janet Koven Levit

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This article introduces one way in which the private sector makes law- bottom-up transnational lawmaking. While this article explores one example in depth- the Berne Union's regulation of export credit insurance- it concludes that bottom-up lawmaking peppers our legal landscape in a profound and largely unacknowledged way. More specifically, this article discusses how the private sector engages in international lawmaking and contemplates the normative implications of privatized transnational lawmaking.

Democracy and the Transnational Private Sector, Symposium. Indiana University School of Law – Bloomington, April 12-13, 2007.


Global Panopticism: States, Corporations, And The Governance Effects Of Monitoring Regimes, Larry Catá Backer Jan 2008

Global Panopticism: States, Corporations, And The Governance Effects Of Monitoring Regimes, Larry Catá Backer

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Regulatory power has become fractured. Its assertion both by public and private bodies is well known. Less well recognized is that the expression of this regulatory power has been fracturing as well. No longer confined to positive regulation or judicial decision, the techniques for enforcing regulation are substituting for regulation itself. This paper examines surveillance as a mechanism through which power is asserted and regulation effected in a world of shared public/private governance. For this purpose, understanding the nature of surveillance as a technique of governance, and as a substitute for governance itself, is a key element for understanding political …


Democratization: The Contribution Of Fair Trade And Ethical Trading Movements, Janet Dine Jan 2008

Democratization: The Contribution Of Fair Trade And Ethical Trading Movements, Janet Dine

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

De-democratization and institutional corruption threaten equality among the expanding global market community. International treaties have been largely unsuccessful because they are designed to favor the more politically and economically advantaged players. In addition to meeting these challenges, there are many additional benefits to be gained from adopting the principles of the Fair Trade and Ethical Trading movements. Finally, international law has an obligation to integrate the principles of social and ethical trading movements to prevent the autonomous powers and transnational corporations from dominating the traditional, less powerful markets and so that welfare increases for all.

Democracy and the Transnational Private …


Reconstructing Contemporary Democracy, Jan Aart Scholte Jan 2008

Reconstructing Contemporary Democracy, Jan Aart Scholte

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Democratic practice varies historically, and transformations of the societal context require accompanying reconstructions of democracy if "rule by the people" is to remain meaningful. Contemporary society is witnessing particularly profound changes in underlying structures of space, governance, and identity. Fundamental reconsideration of democracy is therefore also needed. This article first develops a generic understanding of democracy; next elaborates on currently unfolding transformations of geography, regime, and community; and then develops a five-faceted reconstruction of democracy to meet these changed circumstances. This prescription entails: (1) reconceptualizing democracy, shifting away from obsolete assumptions of territorialists pace, statist regulation, and nationalist identity; (2) …


What Happened To Africa?, J. Peter Pham Jan 2008

What Happened To Africa?, J. Peter Pham

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair—A History of Fifty Years of Independence by Martin Meredith. New York: Public Affairs, 2006. 752 pp.


Recapturing Public Power: Is Investment Arbitration's Engagement Of The Public Interest Contributing To The Democratic Deficit?, Barnali Choudhury Jan 2008

Recapturing Public Power: Is Investment Arbitration's Engagement Of The Public Interest Contributing To The Democratic Deficit?, Barnali Choudhury

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Globalization has changed the way sovereign states regulate their societies. The effect of globalization has been the creation of several international agreements that transfer decision-making from the national to the international level. An important subset of these agreements is international investment treaties; an estimated 2,500 of these treaties have been entered into worldwide by a number of states, especially in the last ten to twelve years. As these agreements almost always contain arbitration clauses, the number and scope of arbitrations handling disputes under these investment agreements have grown exponentially. Arbitrators governing these disputes are now regularly reviewing domestic public interest …


The Relationship Of Participatory Democracy To Participatory Law Formation, Christiana Ochoa Jan 2008

The Relationship Of Participatory Democracy To Participatory Law Formation, Christiana Ochoa

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

While the traditional doctrinal formulation of customary international law (CIL) has focused exclusively on state practice and opinio juris, in the modern age, it is undeniable that individuals and non-state collectives of individuals are increasingly becoming relevant to this process. It is thus useful to analyze individual participation based on the model of participatory democracy, and also in contrast to representative democracy. By doing so, the nuanced relationship between participatory law formation and democratic participation in lawmaking is brought into relief.I n light of larger modern trends within international law, the participation of individuals in law formation requires further examination …


Keynote Address: Consensus Building, Public Dispute Resolution, And Social Justice, Lawrence E. Susskind Jan 2008

Keynote Address: Consensus Building, Public Dispute Resolution, And Social Justice, Lawrence E. Susskind

Fordham Urban Law Journal

These remarks were prepared for and delivered at the Second Annual Fordham University School of Law Dispute Resolution Society Symposium on October 12, 2007. The Address discusses how democracy, public dispute resolution, and social justice fit together. The speaker opens with an example of a small city making a decision about a large industrial development project from the perspective of a traditional model and a consensus-oriented model. He then addresses three major problems with the first: (i) the majority rule problem; (ii) the representation problem; and (iii) the adversarial format problem. The speaker goes on to advocate for the consensus-building …