An Unamendable Constitution

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An Unamendable Constitution?

Author : Richard Albert
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319951416
Total Pages : 390 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (199 download)

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Book Synopsis An Unamendable Constitution? by : Richard Albert

Download or read book An Unamendable Constitution? written by Richard Albert and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-09-03 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the subject of constitutional unamendability from comparative, doctrinal, empirical, historical, political and theoretical perspectives. It explores and evaluates the legitimacy of unamendability in the various forms that exist in constitutional democracies. Modern constitutionalism has given rise to a paradox: can a constitutional amendment be unconstitutional? Today it is normatively contested but descriptively undeniable that a constitutional amendment—one that respects the formal procedures of textual alteration laid down in the constitutional text—may be invalidated for violating either a written or unwritten constitutional norm. This phenomenon of an unconstitutional constitutional amendment traces its political foundations to France and the United States, its doctrinal origins to Germany, and it has migrated in some form to all corners of the democratic world. One can trace this paradox to the concept of constitutional unamendability. Constitutional unamendability can be understood as a formally entrenched provision(s) or an informally entrenched norm that prohibits an alteration or violation of that provision or norm. An unamendable constitutional provision is impervious to formal amendment, even with supermajority or even unanimous agreement from the political actors whose consent is required to alter the constitutional text. Whether or not it is enforced, and also by whom, this prohibition raises fundamental questions implicating sovereignty, legitimacy, democracy and the rule of law.

The Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Constitutions

Author : Richard Albert
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0192511505
Total Pages : 753 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (925 download)

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Book Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Constitutions by : Richard Albert

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Constitutions written by Richard Albert and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-07-23 with total page 753 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Constitutions offers a detailed and analytical view of the constitutions of the Caribbean region, examining the constitutional development of its diverse countries. The Handbook explains the features of the region's constitutions and examines themes emerging from the Caribbean's experience with constitutional interpretation and reform. Beginning with a Foreword from the former President of the Caribbean Court of Justice and an Introduction by the lead editor, Richard Albert, the remainder of the book is divided into four parts. Part I, 'Caribbean Constitutions in the World', highlights what is distinctive about the constitutions of the Caribbean. Part II covers the constitutions of the Caribbean in detail, offering a rich analysis of the constitutional history, design, controversies, and future challenges in each country or group of countries. Each chapter in this section addresses topics such as the impact of key historical and political events on the constitutional landscape for the jurisdiction, a systematic account of the interaction between the legislature and the executive, the civil service, the electoral system, and the independence of the judiciary. Part III addresses fundamental rights debates and developments in the region, including the death penalty and socio-economic rights. Finally, Part IV features critical reflections on the challenges and prospects for the region, including the work of the Caribbean Court of Justice and the future of constitutional reform. This is the first book of its kind, bringing together in a single volume a comprehensive review of the constitutional development of the entire Caribbean region, from the Bahamas in the north to Guyana and Suriname in South America, and all the islands in between. While written in English, the book embraces the linguistic and cultural diversity of the region, and covers the Anglophone Caribbean as well as the Spanish-, French-, and Dutch-speaking Caribbean countries.

America's Constitution

Author : Akhil Reed Amar
Publisher : Random House
ISBN 13 : 1588364879
Total Pages : 672 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (883 download)

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Book Synopsis America's Constitution by : Akhil Reed Amar

Download or read book America's Constitution written by Akhil Reed Amar and published by Random House. This book was released on 2012-02-29 with total page 672 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In America’s Constitution, one of this era’s most accomplished constitutional law scholars, Akhil Reed Amar, gives the first comprehensive account of one of the world’s great political texts. Incisive, entertaining, and occasionally controversial, this “biography” of America’s framing document explains not only what the Constitution says but also why the Constitution says it. We all know this much: the Constitution is neither immutable nor perfect. Amar shows us how the story of this one relatively compact document reflects the story of America more generally. (For example, much of the Constitution, including the glorious-sounding “We the People,” was lifted from existing American legal texts, including early state constitutions.) In short, the Constitution was as much a product of its environment as it was a product of its individual creators’ inspired genius. Despite the Constitution’s flaws, its role in guiding our republic has been nothing short of amazing. Skillfully placing the document in the context of late-eighteenth-century American politics, America’s Constitution explains, for instance, whether there is anything in the Constitution that is unamendable; the reason America adopted an electoral college; why a president must be at least thirty-five years old; and why–for now, at least–only those citizens who were born under the American flag can become president. From his unique perspective, Amar also gives us unconventional wisdom about the Constitution and its significance throughout the nation’s history. For one thing, we see that the Constitution has been far more democratic than is conventionally understood. Even though the document was drafted by white landholders, a remarkably large number of citizens (by the standards of 1787) were allowed to vote up or down on it, and the document’s later amendments eventually extended the vote to virtually all Americans. We also learn that the Founders’ Constitution was far more slavocratic than many would acknowledge: the “three fifths” clause gave the South extra political clout for every slave it owned or acquired. As a result, slaveholding Virginians held the presidency all but four of the Republic’s first thirty-six years, and proslavery forces eventually came to dominate much of the federal government prior to Lincoln’s election. Ambitious, even-handed, eminently accessible, and often surprising, America’s Constitution is an indispensable work, bound to become a standard reference for any student of history and all citizens of the United States.

Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendments

Author : Yaniv Roznai
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198768796
Total Pages : 369 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (987 download)

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Book Synopsis Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendments by : Yaniv Roznai

Download or read book Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendments written by Yaniv Roznai and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can constitutional amendments be unconstitutional? Using theoretical and comparative approaches, Roznai establishes the nature and scope of constitutional amendment powers by focusing on substantive limitations, looking at their prevalence in practice and the conceptual coherence of the very idea of limitations to constitutional amendment powers.

The People’s Constitution

Author : John F. Kowal
Publisher : The New Press
ISBN 13 : 1620975629
Total Pages : 493 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (29 download)

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Book Synopsis The People’s Constitution by : John F. Kowal

Download or read book The People’s Constitution written by John F. Kowal and published by The New Press. This book was released on 2021-09-21 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 233-year story of how the American people have taken an imperfect constitution—the product of compromises and an artifact of its time—and made it more democratic Who wrote the Constitution? That’s obvious, we think: fifty-five men in Philadelphia in 1787. But much of the Constitution was actually written later, in a series of twenty-seven amendments enacted over the course of two centuries. The real history of the Constitution is the astonishing story of how subsequent generations have reshaped our founding document amid some of the most colorful, contested, and controversial battles in American political life. It’s a story of how We the People have improved our government’s structure and expanded the scope of our democracy during eras of transformational social change. The People’s Constitution is an elegant, sobering, and masterly account of the evolution of American democracy. From the addition of the Bill of Rights, a promise made to save the Constitution from near certain defeat, to the post–Civil War battle over the Fourteenth Amendment, from the rise and fall of the “noble experiment” of Prohibition to the defeat and resurgence of an Equal Rights Amendment a century in the making, The People’s Constitution is the first book of its kind: a vital guide to America’s national charter, and an alternative history of the continuing struggle to realize the Framers’ promise of a more perfect union.

The Failure of Popular Constitution Making in Turkey

Author : Felix Petersen
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108497624
Total Pages : 427 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (84 download)

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Book Synopsis The Failure of Popular Constitution Making in Turkey by : Felix Petersen

Download or read book The Failure of Popular Constitution Making in Turkey written by Felix Petersen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-16 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers an in-depth case study of the failure of popular constitution making in Turkey from 2011 to 2013.

Constitutional Triumphs, Constitutional Disappointments

Author : Rosalind Dixon
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108415334
Total Pages : 471 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (84 download)

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Book Synopsis Constitutional Triumphs, Constitutional Disappointments by : Rosalind Dixon

Download or read book Constitutional Triumphs, Constitutional Disappointments written by Rosalind Dixon and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-04-19 with total page 471 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evaluates the successes and failures of the 1996 South African Constitution following the twentieth anniversary of its enactment.

The Endurance of National Constitutions

Author : Zachary Elkins
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 0521515505
Total Pages : 271 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (215 download)

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Book Synopsis The Endurance of National Constitutions by : Zachary Elkins

Download or read book The Endurance of National Constitutions written by Zachary Elkins and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-10-19 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on original historical data, this book shows that key changes in design can extend constitutional life.

Responding to Imperfection

Author : Sanford Levinson
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400821630
Total Pages : 344 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Responding to Imperfection by : Sanford Levinson

Download or read book Responding to Imperfection written by Sanford Levinson and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 1995-01-24 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An increasing number of constitutional theorists, within both the legal academy and university departments of government, are focusing on the conceptual and political problems attached to the notion of constitutional amendment. Amendments are, among other things, recognitions of the imperfection of existing schemes of government. The relative ease or difficulty of amendment has significant implications for the ways that governments respond to problems that call either for new structures of governance or new powers for already established structures. This book brings together essays by leading legal authorities and political scientists on a range of questions from whether the U.S. Constitution is subject to amendment by procedures other than those authorized by Article V to how significant change is conceptualized within classical rabbinic Judaism. Though the essays are concerned for the most part with the American experience, other constitutional traditions are considered as well. The contributors include Bruce Ackerman, Akhil Reed Amar, Mark E. Brandon, David R. Dow, Stephen M. Griffin, Stephen Holmes and Cass R. Sunstein, Sanford Levinson, Donald Lutz, Walter Murphy, Frederick Schauer, John R. Vile, and Noam J. Zohar.

The Cycles of Constitutional Time

Author : Jack M. Balkin
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0197531016
Total Pages : 246 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (975 download)

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Book Synopsis The Cycles of Constitutional Time by : Jack M. Balkin

Download or read book The Cycles of Constitutional Time written by Jack M. Balkin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-08-01 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What will happen to American democracy? The nation's past holds vital clues for understanding where we are now and where we are headed. In The Cycles of Constitutional Time, the eminent constitutional theorist Jack Balkin explains how America's constitutional system changes through the interplay among three cycles: the rise and fall of dominant political parties, the waxing and waning of political polarization, and alternating episodes of constitutional decay and constitutional renewal. If America's politics seems especially fraught today, it is because we are nearing the end of the Republican Party's political dominance, at the height of a long cycle of political polarization, and suffering from an advanced case of what he calls "constitutional rot." In fact, when people talk about constitutional crisis, Balkin explains, they are usually describing constitutional rot--the historical process through which republics become less representative and less devoted to the common good. Brought on by increasing economic inequality and loss of trust, constitutional rot threatens our constitutional system. But Balkin offers a message of hope: We have been through these cycles before, and we will get through them again. He describes what our politics will look like as polarization lessens and constitutional rot recedes. Balkin also explains how the cycles of constitutional time shape the work of the federal courts and theories about constitutional interpretation. He shows how the political parties have switched sides on judicial review not once but twice in the twentieth century, and what struggles over judicial review will look like in the coming decades. Drawing on literatures from history, law, and political science, this is a fascinating ride through American history with important lessons for the present and the future.

Constitutional Revolution

Author : Gary Jeffrey Jacobsohn
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300252889
Total Pages : 382 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Constitutional Revolution by : Gary Jeffrey Jacobsohn

Download or read book Constitutional Revolution written by Gary Jeffrey Jacobsohn and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-01 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few terms in political theory are as overused, and yet as under-theorized, as constitutional revolution. In this book, Gary Jacobsohn and Yaniv Roznai argue that the most widely accepted accounts of constitutional transformation, such as those found in the work of Hans Kelsen, Hannah Arendt, and Bruce Ackerman, fail adequately to explain radical change. For example, a “constitutional moment” may or may not accompany the onset of a constitutional revolution. The consolidation of revolutionary aspirations may take place over an extended period. The “moment” may have been under way for decades—or there may be no such moment at all. On the other hand, seemingly radical breaks in a constitutional regime actually may bring very little change in constitutional practice and identity. Constructing a clarifying lens for comprehending the many ways in which constitutional revolutions occur, the authors seek to capture the essence of what happens when constitutional paradigms change.

Constitutional Amendments

Author : Richard Albert
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190640499
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (96 download)

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Book Synopsis Constitutional Amendments by : Richard Albert

Download or read book Constitutional Amendments written by Richard Albert and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-07-15 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Constitutional Amendments: Making, Breaking, and Changing Constitutions is both a roadmap for navigating the intellectual universe of constitutional amendments and a blueprint for building and improving the rules of constitutional change. Drawing from dozens of constitutions in every region of the world, this book blends theory with practice to answer two all-important questions: what is an amendment and how should constitutional designers structure the procedures of constitutional change? The first matters now more than ever. Reformers are exploiting the rules of constitutional amendment, testing the limits of legal constraint, undermining the norms of democratic government, and flouting the constitution as written to create entirely new constitutions that masquerade as ordinary amendments. The second question is central to the performance and endurance of constitutions. Constitutional designers today have virtually no resources to guide them in constructing the rules of amendment, and scholars do not have a clear portrait of the significance of amendment rules in the project of constitutionalism. This book shows that no part of a constitution is more important than the procedures we use change it. Amendment rules open a window into the soul of a constitution, exposing its deepest vulnerabilities and revealing its greatest strengths. The codification of amendment rules often at the end of the text proves that last is not always least.

On Constitutional Disobedience

Author : Louis Michael Seidman
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199898286
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (998 download)

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Book Synopsis On Constitutional Disobedience by : Louis Michael Seidman

Download or read book On Constitutional Disobedience written by Louis Michael Seidman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-01-02 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What would the Framers of the Constitution make of multinational corporations? Nuclear weapons? Gay marriage? They led a preindustrial country, much of it dependent on slave labor, huddled on the Atlantic seaboard. The Founders saw society as essentially hierarchical, led naturally by landed gentry like themselves. Yet we still obey their commands, two centuries and one civil war later. According to Louis Michael Seidman, it's time to stop. In On Constitutional Disobedience, Seidman argues that, in order to bring our basic law up to date, it needs benign neglect. This is a highly controversial assertion. The doctrine of "original intent" may be found on the far right, but the entire political spectrum--left and right--shares a deep reverence for the Constitution. And yet, Seidman reminds us, disobedience is the original intent of the Constitution. The Philadelphia convention had gathered to amend the Articles of Confederation, not toss them out and start afresh. The "living Constitution" school tries to bridge the gap between the framers and ourselves by reinterpreting the text in light of modern society's demands. But this attempt is doomed, Seidman argues. One might stretch "due process of law" to protect an act of same-sex sodomy, yet a loyal-but-contemporary reading cannot erase the fact that the Constitution allows a candidate who lost the popular election to be seated as president. And that is only one of the gross violations of popular will enshrined in the document. Seidman systematically addresses and refutes the arguments in favor of Constitutional fealty, proposing instead that it be treated as inspiration, not a set of commands. The Constitution is, at its best, a piece of poetry to liberty and self-government. If we treat it as such, the author argues, we will make better progress in achieving both.

The Foundations and Traditions of Constitutional Amendment

Author : Richard Albert
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1509908277
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis The Foundations and Traditions of Constitutional Amendment by : Richard Albert

Download or read book The Foundations and Traditions of Constitutional Amendment written by Richard Albert and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-07-13 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is growing interest in constitutional amendment from a comparative perspective. Comparative constitutional amendment is the study of how constitutions change through formal and informal means, including alteration, revision, evolution, interpretation, replacement and revolution. The field invites scholars to draw insights about constitutional change across borders and cultures, to uncover the motivations behind constitutional change, to theorise best practices, and to identify the theoretical underpinnings of constitutional change. This volume is designed to guide the emergence of comparative constitutional amendment as a distinct field of study in public law. Much of the recent scholarship in the field has been written by the scholars assembled in this volume. This book, like the field it hopes to shape, is not comparative alone; it is also doctrinal, historical and theoretical, and therefore offers a multiplicity of perspectives on a subject about which much remains to be written. This book aspires to be the first to address comprehensively the new dimensions of the study of constitutional amendment, and will become a reference point for all scholars working on the subject. The volume covers all of the topics where innovative work is being done, such as the notion of the people, the trend of empirical quantitative approaches to constitutional change, unamendability, sunrise clauses, constitutional referenda, the conventional divide between constituent and constituted powers, among other important subjects. It creates a dialogue that cuts through these innovative conceptualisations and highlights scholarly disagreement and, in so doing, puts ideas to the test. The volume therefore captures the fierce ongoing debates on the relevant topics, it reveals the current trends and contested issues, and it offers a variety of arguments elaborated by prominent experts in the field. It will open the way for further dialogue.

Canada in the World

Author : Richard Albert
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108419739
Total Pages : 483 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (84 download)

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Book Synopsis Canada in the World by : Richard Albert

Download or read book Canada in the World written by Richard Albert and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-11-02 with total page 483 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marking the Sesquicentennial of Confederation in Canada, this book examines the growing global influence of Canada's Constitution and Supreme Court on courts confronting issues involving human rights.

European Constitutional Language

Author : András Jakab
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107130786
Total Pages : 531 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis European Constitutional Language by : András Jakab

Download or read book European Constitutional Language written by András Jakab and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 531 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a systematic analysis of both the historical development and current interpretation of constitutional law discourse in Europe.

Principles of Constitutional Design

Author : Donald S. Lutz
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1139460552
Total Pages : 251 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (394 download)

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Book Synopsis Principles of Constitutional Design by : Donald S. Lutz

Download or read book Principles of Constitutional Design written by Donald S. Lutz and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006-08-28 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is written for anyone, anywhere sitting down to write a constitution. The book is designed to be educative for even those not engaged directly in constitutional design but who would like to come to a better understanding of the nature and problems of constitutionalism and its fundamental building blocks - especially popular sovereignty and the separation of powers. Rather than a 'how-to-do-it' book that explains what to do in the sense of where one should end up, it instead explains where to begin - how to go about thinking about constitutions and constitutional design before sitting down to write anything. Still, it is possible, using the detailed indexes found in the book, to determine the level of popular sovereignty one has designed into a proposed constitution and how to balance it with an approximate, appropriate level of separation of powers to enhance long-term stability.