The language of liberal constitutionalism / Howard Schweber.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schweber, Howard H., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Constitutional law.

Legitimacy of governments.

Law--Language.

Law.

Law--Philosophy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (v, 386 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book explores two basic questions regarding constitutional theory. First, in view of a commitment to democratic self-rule and widespread disagreement on questions of value, how is the creation of a legitimate constitutional regime possible? Second, what must be true about a constitution if the regime that it supports is to retain its claim to legitimacy? Howard Schweber shows that the answers to these questions appear in a theory of constitutional language that combines democratic theory with constitutional philosophy. The creation of a legitimate constitutional regime depends on a shared commitment to a particular and specialized form of language. Out of this simple observation, Schweber develops arguments about the characteristics of constitutional language, the necessary differences between constitutional language and the language of ordinary law or morality, as well as the authority of officials such as judges to engage in constitutional review of laws.

Contents:

Introduction

The search for sovereignty : law, language, and the beginnings of modern constitutionalism

Consent how? : challenges to Lockean constitutionalism

Constitutional language and the possibility of binding commitments

Consent to what? : exclusivity and completeness in constitutional and legal language

The question of substance : morality, law, and constitutional legitimacy

The defense of constitutional language.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 349-361) and index.

ISBN:

1-107-16810-4

1-280-95955-X

9786610959556

0-511-29640-1

1-139-13181-8

0-511-29563-4

0-511-49869-1

0-511-29405-0

0-511-29485-9

OCLC:

772458256