Constitutionalism Justified: Rainer Forst in Discourse

Constitutionalism Justified analyzes leading Frankfurt School theorist Rainer Forst's theory of a basic right to justification, unique in combining insights from philosophy, constitutionalism, and legal theory. Drawing upon Kant's critical philosophy and Habermas's discourse theory, he has developed fresh perspectives on core topics like the concept of justice, the relation between modernity and emancipation, and human rights. The contributors to this volume explore Forst's work from three different perspectives: philosophy, legal philosophy, and constitutional theory. The first part of this volume addresses the philosophical argument of the basic right to justification, including the influence of Kantian thought on this right, the deontological versus teleological fundamentals, the tension between moral pluralism and universalism, and the relation of the right to justification with social and distributive justice. The second part covers how the right to justification is embedded in constitutional and legal frameworks. It explores the implications that Forst's right to justification has for conceptualizing constitutional democracy and its foundations, and how the moral right to justification may translate into particular practices of justification that are constrained by a legal framework. This includes discussion of the value of constitutionalism in general, of the relation between the formal structure of democracy and substantive justice, of the inclusion of outsiders to the constitutional setting, and of proportionality analysis and judicial review as forms of justification. The book concludes with Rainer Forst's reply to his interlocutors, making the book a valuable source for future research.

Table of Contents:
Introduction By Ester Herlin-Karnell and Matthias Klatt Part One | The Right to Justification 1. The Innate Right of Humanity and the Right to Justification By Arthur Ripstein 2. Engaging with Forst's "Right to Justification": Kantian Analogies and the Problem of Subjectivity By Claudio Corradetti 3. Human Rights, Interests, and Variation By Andrea Sangiovanni 4. Distributions, Relations, and Justifications: Mixing Flavors of Egalitarianism By Christian Hiebaum 5. Practical Justice By Bernhard Schlink 6. Noumenal Power, Reasons, and Justification: A Critique of Forst By Enzo Rossi and Sameer Bajaj 7. The Limits of Justification: Critique Disclosure, and Reflexivity By Lois McNay Part Two | Constitutional Theory 8. Proportionality and Justification By Matthias Klatt 9. Republicanising Rights? Proportionality, Justification, and Non-domination By Eoin Daly 10. Constitutionalism and Justice By Alon Harel 11. Democracy as Good in Itself: Three Kinds of Noninstrumental Justification By Christian F. Rostbøll 12. The Concept of Non-domination and the Right to Justification in EU Security-Related Texts By Ester Herlin-Karnell Part Three | Responses 13. The Constitution of Justification: Replies and Comments By Rainer Forst

About the Author :
Ester Herlin-Karnell is Professor and University Research Chair of EU Constitutional Law and Justice at VU University of Amsterdam Matthias Klatt holds the Chair of Jurisprudence at the University of Graz Héctor A. Morales Zúñiga is a University Assistant the University of Graz

Review :
"This collection assembles twelve contributions discussing Rainer Forst's political and social philosophy. Forst's work is addressed from the perspective of how it can contribute to tackling some core questions of the philosophy of law and legal theory ... In particular, the volume asks how Forst's comprehensive theory of justice can shed light on the nature and value of constitutional law and the rights that are protected therein." -- Esther Neuhann, University of Hamburg, Jurisprudence