Democratic representation and non-majoritarian actors in constitutional orders: a systemic analysis

A systemic analysis of constitutional democratic orders can shed light on two important aspects of political representation (PR): first, the complexity of PR as a plural endeavour involving various actors that perform different activities within a common framework; and second, the diachronic dimension of such an endeavour, which takes shape over time. The article elucidates both aspects with a focus on adjudicative bodies, to point out their representative status and potential as part of a systemic continuum that unfolds over time.     

Constitutional Rights, Balancing, and Rationality

Abstract.   The article begins with an outline of the balancing construction as developed by the German Federal Constitutional court since the Lüth decision in 1958. It then takes up two objections to this approach raised by Jürgen Habermas. The first maintains that balancing is both irrational and a danger for rights, depriving them of their normative power. The second is that balancing takes one out of the realm of right and wrong, correctness and incorrectness, and justification, and, thus, out of the realm of the law. The article attempts to counter these objections by showing that there exists a rational structure of balancing that can be made explicit by a "Law of Balancing" and a "Disproportionality Rule." These rules show, first, that balancing is not a danger for rights but, on the contrary, a necessary means of lending them protection, and second, that balancing is not an alternative to argumentation but an indispensable form of rational practical discourse.     

法治政府的宪政诉求与宪政途径

法治政府建设是我国人民政治生活中的一件大事，法治政府的终极归宿在于维护民权，保障民生，顺乎民意，法治政府所体现的“民本”思想与完政理念完全契合，宪法作为根本大法对法治政府建设具有支配和指导作用，构建法治政府必须遵循宪法精神，反映完政诉求，在完政的框架之内运行。     

Explaining constitutional garrulity

Constitutions differ dramatically in length although they serve very similar functions everywhere. This paper tries to identify some determinants of constitutional length. It contains a new dataset spelling out the length of 135 constitutions in words. It turns out that a common law legal origin significantly increases the length of the constitution, whereas countries in the Middle East and North Africa have significantly shorter constitutions. Further, having been a British or Spanish colony is correlated with longer constitutions, a higher share of Protestants with shorter constitutions.     

The Scott inquiry, constitutional conventions and accountability in British government

The Scott inquiry into the sale of arms related and dual use goods to Iraq in contravention of a government policy of embargo resulted in perhaps the most significant insights into the operation of British government. It revealed a system of government in which departments appeared to pursue their own objectives under a cloak of secrecy leading to conflict and the collapse of a major trial in very public circumstances. While the inquiry has not led to any ministerial resignations it has increased overall concern about the effectiveness of existing constitutional conventions of accountability in British government.