Philosophical Foundations of Constitutional Law: (Philosophical Foundations of Law)

Constitutional law has been and remains an area of intense philosophical interest, and yet the debate has taken place in a variety of different fields with very little to connect them. In a collection of essays bringing together scholars from several constitutional systems and disciplines, Philosophical Foundations of Constitutional Law unites the debate in a study of the philosophical issues at the very foundations of the idea of a constitution: why one might be necessary; what problems it must address; what problems constitutions usually address; and some of the issues raised by the administration of a constitutional regime. Although these issues of institutional design are of abiding importance, many of them have taken on new significance in the last few years as law-makers have been forced to return to first principles in order to justify novel practices and arrangements in their constitutional orders. Thus, questions of constitutional 'revolutions', challenges to the demands of the rule of law, and the separation of powers have taken on new and pressing importance. The essays in this volume address these questions, filling the gap in the philosophical analysis of constitutional law. The volume will provoke specialists in philosophy, politics, and law to develop new philosophically grounded analyses of constitutional law, and will be a valuable resource for graduate students in law, politics, and philosophy.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Part I: What is a Constitution? 1: David Dyzenhaus: The Idea of a Constitution: A Plea for Staatsrechtslehre 2: Mark Walters: The Unwritten Constitution as a Legal Concept 3: Aharon Barak: On Constitutional Implications and Constitutional Structure 4: Sanford Levinson: Reflections on What Constitutes 'a Constitution': The Importance of 'Constitutions of Settlement' and the Potential Irrelevance of Herculean Lawyering 5: Rosalind Dixon and Adrienne Stone: Constitutional Amendment and Political Constitutionalism: A Philosophical and Comparative Reflection Part II: Constitutional Authority 6: Evan Fox-Decent: Constitutional Legitimacy Unbound 7: Hans Lindahl: Constituent Power and the Constitution 8: Richard Stacey: Popular Sovereignty and Revolutionary Constitution- Making 9: Thomas Poole: Constitutional Reason of State Part III: Constitutional Rights and their Limitations 10: Trevor Allan: The Rule of Law 11: Aileen Kavanagh: The Constitutional Separation of Powers 12: Jack M. Balkin: The Framework Model and Constitutional Interpretation 13: Cristina Lafont: Philosophical Foundations of Judicial Review Part IV: Constitutional Rights and their Limitation 14: Sophia Moreau: Equality Rights and Stereotypes 15: Malcolm Thorburn: Proportionality

About the Author :
David Dyzenhaus is a professor of Law and Philosophy at the University of Toronto, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He holds the Alfred Abel Chair of Law and was appointed in 2015 to the rank of University Professor. Malcolm Thorburn is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Toronto. Until 2012, he held the Canada Research Chair in Crime, Security and Constitutionalism at Queen's University. He has been a visiting fellow at the Australian National University (2008); Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich (2011); the French National Centre for Criminology (CESDIP), Paris (2011); and Magdalen College, Oxford (2011-12). He is an associate editor of the New Criminal Law Review and a member of the editorial boards of Law and Philosophy and Criminal Law and Philosophy.

Review :
The book... is a successful introduction to the central questions [of constitutional law]. It provides intellectual roadmaps as well as explicit encouragement along the way to scholars who might wish to engage in this field of enquiry. It incorporates useful methodological discussions of philosophical, legal, and comparative common-law jurisdictions. The book... is a successful introduction to the central questions [of constitutional law]. It provides intellectual roadmaps as well as explicit encouragement along the way to scholars who might wish to engage in this field of enquiry. It incorporates useful methodological discussions of philosophical, legal, and comparative common-law jurisdictions.