Public Reason and Courts

A comprehensive study of public reason for courts, with contributions from leading scholars in philosophy, political science and law.

Silje A. Langvatn (Edited by), Mattias Kumm (Edited by), Wojciech Sadurski (Edited by)

9781108487351, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 June 2020

300 pages
2.5 x 15.7 x 2.5 cm, 0.7 kg

Public Reason and Courts is an interdisciplinary study of public reason and courts with contributions from leading scholars in legal theory, political philosophy and political science. The book's chapters demonstrate the breadth of ways in which public reason and public justification is currently seen as relevant for adjudicative reasoning and review practices, and includes critical assessments of different ways that the idea of public reason has been applied to courts. It shows that public reason is not just an abstract theoretical concept used by political philosophers, but an idea that spurs new perspectives and normative frameworks also for legal scholars and judges. In particular, the book demonstrates the potential, and the limitations, of the idea of public reason as a source of legitimacy for courts, in a context where many courts face political backlashes and crisis of trust.

Preface Silje A. Langvatn, Wojciech Sadurski and Mattias Kumm
1. Taking Public Reason to Court: Understanding References to Public Reason in Discussions about Courts and Adjudication Silje Aambø Langvatn
Part I. Public Reason in Constitutional Courts: 2. Must Laws Be Motivated by Public Reason? Micah Schwartzman
3. The Importance of Constitutional Public Reason Ronald C. Den Otter
4. The Question of Constitutional Fidelity: Rawls on the Reason of Constitutional Courts Frank I. Michelman
5. The Challenges of Islamic Law Adjudication in Public Reason Mohammad H. Fadel
6. “We Hold these Truths to be Self-Evident”: Constitutionalism, Public Reason and Legitimate Authority Mattias Kumm
7. A Kantian System of Constitutional Justice: Rights, Trusteeship and Balancing Alec Stone Sweet and Eric Palmer
8. Laws, Norms, and Public Justification: The Limits of Law as an Instrument of Reform Jacob Barrett and Gerald F. Gaus
Part II. Public Reason in International Courts and Tribunals: 9. European Court of Human Rights in Pursuit of Public Reason? A Study of Lost Opportunities Wojciech Sadurski
10. The Right to Justification in the Context of Proportionality: A Plea for Determinacy and Stability Alain Zysset
11. “Going Public:” Reasoning and Justification at the “World Trade Court” Sivan Agon Shlomo
Part III. Critical Perspective on Public Reason in Courts: 12. Constitutional Interpretation and Public Reason: Seductive Disanalogies Christopher F. Zurn.

Subject Areas: Law: study & revision guides [LR], Legal ethics & professional conduct [LATC], Gender & the law [LAQG]