Judging social rights / Jeff King, University College London.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

King, Jeff, 1973- author.

Series:

Cambridge studies in constitutional law ; 3.

Cambridge studies in constitutional law ; 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social rights--United States.

Social rights.

Judicial power--Social aspects--United States.

Judicial power.

Constitutional law--United States.

Constitutional law.

Political questions and judicial power--United States.

Political questions and judicial power.

Social justice--United States.

Social justice.

Social rights--Philosophy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxvii, 370 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Countries that now contemplate constitutional reform often grapple with the question of whether to constitutionalise social rights. This book presents an argument for why, under the right conditions, doing so can be a good way to advance social justice. In making such a case, the author considers the nature of the social minimum, the role of courts among other institutions, the empirical record of judicial impact, and the role of constitutional text. He argues, however, that when enforcing such rights, judges ought to adopt a theory of judicial restraint structured around four principles: democratic legitimacy, polycentricity, expertise and flexibility. These four principles, when taken collectively, commend an incrementalist approach to adjudication. The book combines theoretical, doctrinal, empirical and comparative analysis, and is written to be accessible to lawyers, social scientists, political theorists and human rights advocates.

Contents:

Introduction : aims and methods

Part I. The Case for Constitutional Social Rights

The case for social rights

The value of courts in light of the alternatives

A basic interpretive approach

Part II. A Theory of Judicial Restraint

Institutional approaches to judicial restraint

Democratic legitimacy

Polycentricity

Expertise

Flexibility

Part III. Incrementalism

Incrementalism as a general theme.

Notes:

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

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-22782-8

1-139-41133-0

1-280-68293-0

9786613659873

1-139-42269-3

1-139-05175-X

1-139-41967-6

1-139-42172-7

1-139-41762-2

1-139-42376-2

OCLC:

794663491