Comparative Constitutional Reasoning

A large-scale comparative work of leading cases examines judicial constitutional reasoning in eighteen different legal systems globally.

András Jakab (Edited by), Arthur Dyevre (Edited by), Giulio Itzcovich (Edited by)

9781107085589, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 27 April 2017

704 pages, 19 b/w illus. 6 tables
23.6 x 15.8 x 5 cm, 1.38 kg

'This volume is the mature product of a very thorough, innovative, and reasonably large research project. It is impossible to do justice to the richness of its findings …' Katalin Capannini-Kelemen, I-CONnect (www.iconnectblog.com)

To what extent is the language of judicial opinions responsive to the political and social context in which constitutional courts operate? Courts are reason-giving institutions, with argumentation playing a central role in constitutional adjudication. However, a cursory look at just a handful of constitutional systems suggests important differences in the practices of constitutional judges, whether in matters of form, style, or language. Focusing on independently-verified leading cases globally, a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis offers the most comprehensive and systematic account of constitutional reasoning to date. This analysis is supported by the examination of eighteen legal systems around the world including the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice. Universally common aspects of constitutional reasoning are identified in this book, and contributors also examine whether common law countries differ to civil law countries in this respect.

1. Introduction: comparing constitutional reasoning with quantitative and qualitative methods András Jakab, Arthur Dyevre and Giulio Itzcovic
2. The High Court of Australia Cheryl Saunders and Adrienne Stone
3. The Austrian Constitutional Court Konrad Lachmayer
4. The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil Conrado Hübner Mendes
5. The Supreme Court of Canada Hugo Cyr and Monica Popescu
6. The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic Zden?k Kühn
7. The European Court of Human Rights Janneke Gerards
8. The European Court of Justice Giulio Itzcovich
9. The French Constitutional Council Arthur Dyevre
10. German Federal Constitutional Court Michaela Hailbronner and Stefan Martini
11. The Constitutional Court of Hungary András Jakab and Johanna Fröhlich
12. The Supreme Court of Ireland Eoin Carolan
13. The Israeli Supreme Court Suzie Navot
14. The Constitutional Court of Italy Tania Groppi and Irene Spigno
15. The Constitutional Court of South Africa Christa Rautenbach and Lorens du Plessis
16. The Spanish Constitutional Court Marian Ahumada Ruiz
17. The Constitutional Court of Taiwan Wen-Chen Chang
18. The Supreme Court (House of Lords) of the United Kingdom Tamas Gyorfi
19. The Supreme Court of the United States Howard Schweber and Jennifer L. Brookhart
20. Conclusion András Jakab, Arthur Dyevre and Giulio Itzcovich.

Subject Areas: Constitutional & administrative law [LND], Courts & procedure [LNAA], Laws of Specific jurisdictions [LN], International law [LB], Systems of law [LAF]