Rule of Law Commons^™

Mutual Recognitions Across Generations, Steven L. Winter Walter S. Gibbs Distinguished Professor Of Constitutional Law

Law Faculty Research Publications

“Sovereignty,” Arendt says, “is contradictory to” the human condition. It is not, in any event, the kind of thing that can be shared across generations. Subsequent generations lack sovereignty to the precise degree that they are bound by the decisions of their predecessors. It is no answer to say that contemporary citizens participate in the sovereignty of a whole, transgenerational people. To paraphrase de Tocqueville, later generations are not free because they are not entirely equal, and they are not equal because they are not entirely free.

Where “sovereignty” is a metaphysical concept that transcends time, recognition is an act …

Retroactive Application Of Statutes: Protection Of Reliance Interests, Gene A. Maguire

Maine Law Review

Courts commonly use the term "retroactive" in two senses. On the one hand, it refers broadly to the fact that all new laws to some extent apply to a state of affairs created by past events. The term, on the other hand, embodies a time-honored historical antipathy to laws that disrupt settled expectations. The common law upholds the principle that the citizenry should be able to make everyday decisions with reasonable certainty of the legal consequences of their actions. This principle is based on fundamental notions of fairness and justice. It is well established, however, that the legislature may enact …

Disparity And The Need For Sentencing Guidelines In Maine: A Proposal For Enhanced Appellate Review, Daniel E. Wathen

Maine Law Review

Perhaps in no other field of judicial endeavor is diversity and variety more apparent than when a sentencing judge considers the circumstances presented by a defendant convicted of a criminal offense. In each case, the sentencing judge confronts an individual who has no exact counterpart in any defendant previously appearing before the court for sentencing. The sentence imposed is primarily a matter of judicial discretion and is based upon consideration of the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offense, and the circumstances of the defendant. The sentencing judge formulates a specific sentence within broad statutory …

Taxpayer Standing And The Preventive-Remedial Distinction: A Call For Reform, Alicia E. Flaherty

Maine Law Review

The Maine Law Court has observed that, "a central function of American courts [is] to protect and relieve the individual from injurious unconstitutional conduct by government officials." Apart from the political process, the judicial process is the only means through which citizens can ensure that government conforms to the law. The courts provide a forum for citizens to challenge the legality of official acts, and serve as a "means of correcting illegal practices of government officials which would otherwise be irreparable." The question of standing is a critical element of the court's task of balancing the individual's right to challenge …

Obstructing Precedent, Bill Watson

Northwestern University Law Review

Critics of the Supreme Court sometimes accuse the Justices of disrespecting or being unfaithful to precedent—of undermining certain precedents while leaving them formally in place. Yet it remains unclear what exactly these criticisms mean or why they point to anything objectionable. This Article proposes that critics are often drawing attention to a particular practice: obstructing precedent. A better grasp of what obstructing precedent is and when it is legitimate is important to understanding the Roberts Court’s treatment of precedent in a range of cases.

A court obstructs precedent when it refuses to cooperate with its prior self in building a …

Living The Good Life In The Anthropocene, Karrigan Bork, Karen Bradshaw, Rebecca Bratspies, Cinnamon Carlarne, Bruce Carpenter, Robin Kundis Craig, Sarah Fox, Josh Galperin, Francis Hicks, Keith Hirokawa, Kevin Lynch, Ruhan S. Nagra, Michele Okoh, Jessica Owley, Amber Polk, Melissa Powers, Shannon Roesler, J.B. Ruhl, Danielle Stokes, Anastasia Telesetsky

Articles

The Stockholm Resilience Centre has concluded that the number of "planetary boundaries" we are crossing has increased from three in 2009, when the Centre's researchers first introduced the concept, to six in 2023. Crossing these boundaries means humans are changing basic attributes of planetary systems to the point of risking the future of civilization. And the distinction between "safe" and "just" planetary boundaries raises questions regarding how to conceptualize the "good life." In this latest in a biannual series of essays, members of the Environmental Law Collaborative explore conceptions of the "good" as well as the various elements necessary to …

Balancing Tradition And Inclusion: Framework Principles For An Afghan Accord, M. Hamed Isar

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article examines the turbulent constitutional history of Afghanistan and proposes a pragmatic constitutional framework balancing Islamic principles with rights, protections, and constraints on power. After analyzing the Taliban’s current extraconstitutional rule and ideological objections to an inclusive order, it makes the case for principled compromise. The first step to constitutional reform for Afghanistan is to recognize that Afghans, the Taliban, and the international community pay a high price for disregarding law and accountability in governance. To that end, this Article canvasses the many factors that could motivate the Taliban to accept the rule of law, despite the constraints it …

Contempt: The Original Judicial Cheat Code, Ryan L. Scott

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The judicial contempt power challenges the fundamental rights enshrined in America’s Constitution. Imagine spending eight years in federal prison with no right to a jury trial or a court appointed attorney. Your only reprieve is the discretion of the judge who is imprisoning you. Meaningful appeals and even habeas corpus actions are generally not available remedies. Instead, what was originally justified as an inherent power of the court, necessary to maintain order and decorum, is increasingly used for trivial offenses or to incarcerate individuals for far longer than their possible crimes would otherwise warrant.

Despite widespread instances of abuse of …

Command Responsibility And The War In Ukraine: Can Customary International Law Hold Russian Commanders Accountable For War Crimes?, Nicholas J. Nizinski

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Currently, neither Ukraine’s Constitution nor its criminal code establish the principle of command responsibility as a mode of criminal liability within the country. Key international statutes like Article 28 of the International Criminal Court and international case law, like the recently decided Case of Milanković v. Croatia, have firmly established the doctrine of command responsibility as a fundamental principle of customary international law applicable in the context of an armed conflict. Furthermore, the Milanković court affirmed a conviction based on command responsibility even in the absence of a clear domestic governing statute at the time the crime was committed, …

Ratio Legis Penambahan Modal Negara Kepada Lembaga Pembiayaan Ekspor Indonesia, Syarif Hidayat

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Since its establishment under Law Number 2 of 2009 concerning The Indonesian Export Financing Institution (LPEI), the Indonesian Export Financing Institution has gained additional capital participation nine times between 2010 and 2021 by the passage of government regulations. The rules for extra capital in the legislation on its establishment only take the form of regulations in the event that the capital of the Indonesian Export Financing Institution is decreased by a particular amount, but the additional capital that has been carried out thus far is not meant to replace the capital deficiency. As a result, this research was undertaken to …

Pengungkapan Model Mediasi Kepada Pihak Bersengketa Oleh Mediator Sebagai Pelaksanaan Prinsip Informed Consent (Kajian Mediasi Sektor Perbankan), Tri Harnowo, Fahmi Shahab

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

The mediation techniques commonly used by mediators are facilitative, evaluative, or hybrid models. The choice of mediation model generally depends on the complexity of the dispute, the nature of the relationship, and the expectations for further cooperation. This research examines the application and disclosure of mediation models in the banking sector. The methodology used is normative, analyzing regulations related to the application and disclosure of mediation models in the banking sector. Data collection was obtained from primary legal materials in the form of legislation, secondary legal materials such as professional codes of ethics, books, articles, and scientific journals, and tertiary …

Urgensi Memahami Arbitrase Bagi Pemangku Kepentingan Dunia Bisnis Di Indonesia, Bambang Hariyanto, Saptarini Saptarini

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract The resolution of business disputes through arbitration forums is increasingly favored by the majority of business actors in Indonesia. One indication of this is the growing number of business actors, both from the private sector and state-owned enterprises, who include arbitration agreements as dispute clauses in their contracts. Arbitration has even attracted the interest of MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) as a forum to resolve their business disputes. This phenomenon ultimately highlighted the urgency for stakeholders in the business world to understand arbitration. Using normative juridical methods, this article contained a series of analyses of primary materials, including …

Aspek Keperdataan Dalam Upaya Penyelesaian Sengketa Medis Antara Pasien Dengan Tenaga Medis Berdasarkan Undang-Undang Kesehatan, Lintang Zandra Camellia, Adhitya Widya Kartika

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Medical disputes in the civil field are disputes that can occur between patients and doctor as a medical-professionals and are related to the full fillment of the rights and obligations of the binding relationship as a legal result in the provision of medical services. Medical disputes can lead to losses suffered by patients which can be in the form of limb disability, even death. The emergence of law and health provides a beneficial collaboration, where the health field can be used to face public health challenges and the law can be used to maintain peace and order in society. The …

Section 9 Of The Canadian Charter & Arbitrary Laws: A Taxonomy, An Organizational Ideal, And A Path Forward, François Tanguay-Renaud

Articles & Book Chapters

One of the conditions for a detention not to be arbitrary under s. 9 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom is that it must be authorized by a law that is itself not arbitrary. The Supreme Court’s pronouncements about what makes a law arbitrary have been brief, question begging and, at times, conflicting. This article takes stock and proposes a path forward.

First, it reviews the Supreme Court’s case law with the goal of developing a taxonomy of its various accounts of arbitrary laws. It identifies three: a formal account (with a procedural check), a purpose-sensitive account, and …

Prosecutorial Data Transparency And Data Justice, Caitlin Glass, Kat M. Albrecht, Perry Moriearty

Northwestern University Law Review

The U.S. criminal legal system is notoriously racialized. Though Black and Latinx people make up less than 30% of U.S. residents, they constitute more than 50% of the nearly two million people currently in U.S. prisons and jails. For decades, research has indicated that one group of decision-makers has had an outsized influence on these numbers: prosecutors. From whom to charge to what sentences to recommend, no actor plays a greater role in determining who goes to prison in this country. Highly subjective and lacking in formal guidance and accountability, prosecutorial decisions are especially vulnerable to racial bias. They are …

University Of The District Of Columbia Law Review, University Of The District Of Columbia Law Review

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Democracy's Ruling Hand, Steven L. Winter Walter S. Gibbs Distinguished Professor Of Constitutional Law

Law Faculty Research Publications

The claim of liberal constitutionalism is that a text-like object or a ‘diplomatically abstract’ set of principles can work a deflection of disagreements within a pluralist polity. But this project assumes both that pluralism remains amenable to reason and that reason is a capacity independent of the profound differences of meaning, value, and forms of life that shape those disagreements. Neither assumption is correct. Differences in norms, values, and forms of life inevitably undergird and structure differences in meaning, perception, and interpretation. Consequently, a constitution (even when written and accompanied by judicial review) will necessarily unfold in an ongoing process …

The Persistent Treatise, Dana Neacsu, Paul D. Callister

Faculty Works

The legal treatise remains a pillar of the American legal system and the rule of law, despite claims it might be dying and variations in quantitative citations to treatises over time. Indeed, several treatises evidence increased citation in U.S. Supreme Court opinions during the last several decades. Surprisingly, the U.S. Supreme Court, including the Robert’s Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, increasingly sees fit to rely on proto-treatises, such as Bracton, Coke, and Blackstone. This article provides empirical data and qualitative analysis to support this claim, highlighting the sometimes declining but nevertheless significant presence of treatises in case …

Genocide Memorialization Through Law In Bosnia And Herzegovina: Reconciling The Irreconcilable?, Carna Pistan

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article focuses on the law banning genocide denial and other war crimes and the glorification of convicted war criminals imposed in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the former High Representative Valentin Inzko in mid-2021 to facilitate the country’s reconciliation process. It first positions the genocide denial ban into the vast category of memory laws by examining its content and scope, as well as the reactions and consequences it has provoked up to now. The article maintains that an internationally imposed memory law cannot create reconciliation in a deeply divided society. It shows, on the contrary, that the imposed legislation has …

Letter From The Editor, Reeve Lanigan

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

To foster dialogue and encourage community engagement surrounding these issues, this year The Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal (DRLJ) hosted its annual symposium in collaboration with the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and the Weinstein International Foundation to explore how elements of alternative dispute resolution can apply to community policing strategies to prevent and deescalate crime. The symposium, “The Tactics of Resolution: Exploring International Innovation in Law Enforcement and Conflict Resolution,” brought students, law enforcement officials, academics, and policymakers together to engage in enriching conversations on how to establish safer and more harmonious global community