Synopses & Reviews
A distinguished international team of legal theorists examine the issue of constitutionalism and pose such foundational questions as: Why have a constitution? How do we know what the constitution of a country really is? How should a constitution be interpreted? The volume will be of particular importance to those in philosophy, law, political science and international relations interested in whether and what kinds of constitutions should be adopted in countries without them, and involved in debates about constitutional interpretation.
Review
"This useful collection of essays addresses basic problems in constitutional theory and jurisprudence....a useful collection of insightful essays for upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty." Choice"...invaluable in staking out the most important positions in contemporary constitutionalism. As such, each of the contributions is indispensable reading for the specialist and generalist alike." Kenneth Einar Himma, The Law and Politics Book Review
Synopsis
A distinguished team of legal theorists examine the issue of constitutionalism, asking such questions as: why have a constitution? How do we know what the constitution of a country really is? How should a constitution be interpreted? Why should one generation feel bound by the constitution of an earlier one?
Table of Contents
Introduction Lawrence Alexander; 1. American constitutionalism Richard Kay; 2. Constitutional authorship Frank Michelman; 3. What is 'The Constitution'? Michael Perry; 4. Legitimacy and interpretation Jed Rubenfeld; 5. The domain of constitutional justice Lawrence Sager; 6. Precommitment and disagreement Jeremy Waldron; 7. On the authority and interpretation of constitutions: preliminaries Joseph Raz.