The Idea of Constitutional Pluralism

Constitutional discourse has perhaps never been more popular, nor more comprehensively challenged than it is today. The development of new constitutional settlements and languages at state and post-state level has to be balanced against the deepening of a formidable range of sceptical attitudes. These include the claim that constitutionalism remains too state-centered, overstates its capacity to shape political community, exhibits an inherent normative bias against social developments associated with the politics of difference, provides a language easily susceptible to ideological manipulation and, that, consequent upon these challenges, it increasingly represents a fractured and debased conceptual currency. A rehabilitated language of constitutionalism would meet these challenges through a version of constitutional pluralism. Constitutional pluralism recognises that in the post-Westphalian world there exists a range of different constitutional sites and processes configured in a heterarchical rather than a hierarchical pattern, and seeks to develop a number of empirical indices and normative criteria which allow us to understand this emerging configuration and assess the legitimacy of its development.     

Another Look at Constitutional Pluralism in the European Union

Constitutional pluralism is a theory, or movement, or idea, for some perhaps even an ideal, about the relationship between the legal system of the European Union and those of its Member States. In this paper, Julio Baquero Cruz analyses its assumptions and implications in the light of historical experience and of the consequences it could have for the practice of law in Europe. To do so, constitutional pluralism is compared with the other main positions about that relationship: the national constitutional position and the position of Union law.     

Constitutional Pluralism and the Question of the European Common Good

Constitutional pluralism seems to be one of the most inspiring theories of European constitutionalism. It can account for the multilayered institutional framework of the Union. Therefore, it is a natural candidate for explaining how to track the European public interest. Pluralism may serve as the best methodology for keeping into account and for respecting the multiple perspectives on the common good represented by every institutional layer of the Union. After having examined the theories of two of the most influential authors of constitutional pluralism, Mattias Kumm and Miguel Maduro, this essay tries to show how pluralism might improve its highly potential explanatory and normative force, that is, by including in the institutional picture not only courts but also political institutions. In this way, the constitutional dialogue between the European and the national layers would be enriched, and every European and national voice might have a say in the interactions between institutions, securing a fairer way of tracking the European common good.     

宪政的伦理基础--萧公权的《政治多元论》及其西方宪政思想研究

萧公权的英文著作《政治多元论》曾作为国际心理学、哲学及科学方法丛书之一于 1 92 7年由伦敦及纽约的出版社出版。虽说本书在当时西方学界颇受瞩目 ,但遗憾的是迄今尚没有中文译本 ,也很少有国人言及此书。本文将在考察《政治多元论》主要内容的基础上 ,探讨萧氏政治多元论研究的历史背景、问题意识、内容特色及其研究方法 ,并以此为契机深入思考现代宪政的伦理基础问题     

法律多元主义及其中国语境：规范多元化

法律多元主义的产生与发展,对各国法治发展的影响不容忽视.当代中国自上而下推行法治,法律规范创制体系以国家制定法为中心,但现代社会中民间法的超强生命力、道德的法律化、法律原则的普遍适用等现象冲击了制定法的中心地位,法律规范的创制体系也由此趋于多元.这种多元主义法律观对当代中国的法治运行具有现实意义.     

Provocation and Pluralism

What is the best way to reflect human diversity in the structure of the provocation defence, and similar excusatory defences in the criminal law? The House of Lords recently concluded that the right way is to allow the jury to personalise and thereby qualify the apparently uniform ‘reasonable person’ standard mentioned in section 3 of the Homicide Act 1957. In this paper we argue that this is not the right way at all. We argue that the reasonable person standard, unqualified, already accommodates the only variations between people that the law should want to accommodate in an excusatory defence. To defend this view we revive the common law's tripartite analysis of the ‘objective’ (or impersonal) issues in the provocation defence: first, was there an action capable of constituting a provocation? second, how provocative was it? and third, how much self‐control should have been exhibited in the face of it? We show that these questions each have a built‐in sensitivity to certain variations between different defendants' situations, but that this does not detract from their objectivity (or impersonality). We argue that no more sensitivity is needed in the name of human diversity, and what is more that no more sensitivity is desirable.     

宪法解释与宪法理解

一 宪法解释之涵义,目前学术界的理解如同对法律解释的理解一样,存在着不同的认识,举其要者,有以下两种代表性的观点： 第一,宪法解释是指一定的国家机关以其享有的宪法解释权对宪法规范的内容、涵义及界限所作的说明。持这种观点者在目前的中国宪法学界占主导地位,是一种通说。代表性的有：“宪法解释,顾名思义,就是有权解释宪法的机构依照一定的解释程序对宪法的含义所作的解释和说明。”①“宪法解释,就是宪法解释机关依照法定权限和程序,根据宪政精神和社会宪政实际需要,对宪法条文的具体含义和适用范围所作的补充说明。”②…     

Constitutional Agreements without Constitutional Theories

How is constitution‐making possible, when people disagree on so many questions about what is good and what is right? The answer lies in the existence of incompletely theorized agreements–agreements on abstract formulations (freedom of speech, equality under the law) and on particular practices, amidst disagreement about the largest issues in social life. Such agreements help make constitutions and constitutional law possible, even within nations whose citizens cannot concur on the most fundamental matters. Incompletely theorized agreements thus help illuminate an enduring constitutional puzzle: how members of diverse societies can work together on terms of mutual respect amidst intense disagreements about both the right and the good.     

Television Food Marketing to Children Revisited: The Federal Trade Commission Has the Constitutional and Statutory Authority to Regulate

The evidence reveals that young children are targeted by food and beverage advertisers but are unable to comprehend the commercial context and persuasive intent of marketing. Although the First Amendment protects commercial speech, it does not protect deceptive and misleading speech for profit. Marketing directed at children may fall into this category of unprotected speech. Further, children do not have the same First Amendment right to receive speech as adults. For the first time since the Federal Trade Commission's original attempt to regulate marketing to children in the 1970s (termed KidVid), the political, scientific, and legal climate coalesce to make the time well-suited to reevaluate the FTC's authority for action. This paper analyzes the constitutional authority for the FTC to regulate television food marketing directed at children as deceptive in light of the most robust public health evidence on the subject.     

从宪法到宪政

今年 3月 ,全国人大通过了新的宪法修正案 ,包括人权、私有财产所有权、征收征用补偿权等重要权利已众望所归地进入了宪法 ,这意味着我国现行宪法向宪政迈出了更为坚实的一步 ,受到法学界的广泛关注与积极评价。为进一步宣传这次宪法修改的精神 ,加深对宪法基本价值的理解 ,近日 ,在华东政法学院举行了一场主题为“从宪法到宪政”的博士论坛 ,论坛由华东政法学院院长、博士生导师何勤华教授主持。在论坛中 ,各位主题发言人围绕着“宪法”与“宪政”两大主题 ,从宪法文化、宪法观念、宪法价值、宪法制度与技术等角度出发 ,结合西方宪法传统和我国宪法制度与宪法实践 ,畅谈了各自对于宪法与宪政的认识与感悟 ,并展望了我国宪法发展的基本脉向。本次论坛充分实现了策划的基本目标 ,对于进一步宣传宪法、研究宪法、贯彻宪法具有积极而深远的意义     

Contemporary Pluralism and Toleration

The author outlines a conception of toleration as recognition of differences which she argues to be more adequate than current liberal views in order to face issues arising from contemporary pluralism. The liberal conception of toleration as freedom from government's interference in certain areas is appropriate if pluralism is conceived of as a plurality of conflicting conceptions of the good. By contrast, if pluralism is understood as the plurality of groups and cultures, asymmetrically situated in democratic society, then the issues underlying toleration are seen as the contested claim of minorities for asserting their different identity in the public space. Public toleration of differences is thus viewed as a symbolic public gesture of inclusion of the different identities and their bearers into democratic citizenship on an equal footing as members of minority groups. The argument supporting public toleration is so founded on reason of justice.     

Constitutional Right to a Healthy Environment and Human Rights Approaches to Environmental Protection in Nigeria: Gbemre v. Shell Revisited

In recent years, there has been an increasing practice of incorporating the right to a healthy/clean environment into national constitutions. This practice can be found in various parts of the world. Importantly, the judiciary in many countries has not only enforced such a right but has increasingly tended to interpret other constitutionally guaranteed human rights, especially the right to life, to include the right to a healthy/clean environment. In Nigeria, there are various environmental concerns which raise the question of environmental protection. This article seeks to consider recent developments in Nigeria in relation to the constitutional right to a healthy/clean environment – more specifically, the adoption of the human rights approaches to environmental protection by a Nigerian Federal High Court judge in deciding a case of alleged environmental damage.     

宪法权利但书与宪法义务

宪法权利但书是对宪法权利的限制,宪法义务是制宪者(人民)要求自己对国家的义务(服从法律)。权利但书与义务在主体、所禁止侵犯的对象以及与权利的关系等方面均有所不同。宪法权利但书与宪法义务都是原则性的,并具有某种程度的重合性。各宪法权利但书形成了整个宪法权利的关系网。作为义务对他人的义务往往伴随着权利及其权利但书;对国家的义务则伴随着国家权力及其权力但书;宪法权利但书中的重要元素——"公共利益"与国家权力密切相关。     

波兰的违宪审查制度与宪法裁判所

波兰的违宪审查制既不同于美国的普通法院审查制 ,又不同于法国的宪法委员会审查制 ,波兰宪法裁判所本质上是一个宪法法院 ,兼具司法审查职能和规范审查职能 ;宪法裁判所的职权比较广泛 ,包括审查法律规范、审查政党活动合法性、解决中央机关间的权限争议 ,以及受理宪法诉讼。审查方式包括事前审查与事后审查 ,具有多样性。     

2005年宪法学学术研究回顾

一、宪法学研究概括 2005年中国宪法学研究会、地方宪法学研究会、各法学研究机构召开了各种形式的宪法学学术讨论会,探讨了宪法学理论面临的新课题.1.10月22日至23日,由中国法学会宪法学研究会和山东大学法学院共同主办的中国法学会宪法学研究会2005年年会暨成立20周年纪念大会在泉城济南召开.本次会议的主题是"人权的宪法保障",有130多名学者提交了论文.与会者围绕"人权与公民权"、"人权的立法保障"、"人权的司法保障"、"人权入宪与依宪执政"、"人权公约的实施机制"等问题展开讨论.2.5月28日,由中国法学会宪法学研究会、厦门大学法学院、福建师范大学法学院联合举办的"吴家麟教授八十华诞暨宪法学思想研讨会"福州市举行.与会学者系统地探讨了吴家麟宪法思想的特点与新中国宪法学发展的联系,并围绕如何发展具有中国特色的社会主义宪法学体系进行了深入的理论探索.     

Constitutional Chrononomy

Every constitution defines and is defined by a period in time. Like all law the creation and application of constitutions require reference to the past and future respectively. Every instance of constitution-making is an attempt to control behavior over an extended period of time. Therefore constitutions will be drafted, both in style and substance, to reflect that temporal ambition. The effectiveness of a constitution also requires that its interpretation makes reference to the understanding of its rules held by the constitution-makers. As a result, and notwithstanding the efforts to make it suitable over a long period by its creators, every constitution is bound to become unsuitable. Courts employ a number of devices to cope with the inevitable obsolescence of constitutions but, sooner or later, every constitution will have to be discarded and a new constitutional era begun.