Centre for Global Constitutionalism Research
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/452
2024-03-29T05:25:49ZGift-giving and inheritance strategies in late Roman law and legal practice
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/16641
In Roman law, an inheritance could be passed on according to the rules of intestate or testate succession. The Roman law of succession presents people with an enormous display of legal ingenuity. This chapter analyses some of the legal instruments and rules by which late Roman testators and donors were able to pursue making over bequests and inheritances to the institutional Christian church. It presents an overview of Roman family law and inheritance structures, paying particular attention to post-classical legal developments. The chapter explores donation and inheritance law in the specific context of the institutional Christian church from the age of Constantine onwards. It expands on this analysis via a focus on specific examples of strategic behaviour relating to Christian gift-giving and inheritance in the later fourth, fifth and sixth centuries AD. It shows that Roman legislators themselves engaged in strategic behaviour, attempting to use the Roman law of donation and inheritance as a means of socio-religious control.
2017-06-07T00:00:00ZHumfress, CarolineIn Roman law, an inheritance could be passed on according to the rules of intestate or testate succession. The Roman law of succession presents people with an enormous display of legal ingenuity. This chapter analyses some of the legal instruments and rules by which late Roman testators and donors were able to pursue making over bequests and inheritances to the institutional Christian church. It presents an overview of Roman family law and inheritance structures, paying particular attention to post-classical legal developments. The chapter explores donation and inheritance law in the specific context of the institutional Christian church from the age of Constantine onwards. It expands on this analysis via a focus on specific examples of strategic behaviour relating to Christian gift-giving and inheritance in the later fourth, fifth and sixth centuries AD. It shows that Roman legislators themselves engaged in strategic behaviour, attempting to use the Roman law of donation and inheritance as a means of socio-religious control.Rules, power and constitutions : following Onuf
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/16529
This chapter explores the role of power in the theory of global constitutionalism. It draws on the work of Nicholas Onuf, whose launched constructivist IR theory. It borrows from Onuf the idea of rules and rule making, but critiques his work for failing to devvelop the idea of power in constitutional theory. It concludes with an analysis of global constitutent power.
2017-05-23T00:00:00ZLang, AnthonyThis chapter explores the role of power in the theory of global constitutionalism. It draws on the work of Nicholas Onuf, whose launched constructivist IR theory. It borrows from Onuf the idea of rules and rule making, but critiques his work for failing to devvelop the idea of power in constitutional theory. It concludes with an analysis of global constitutent power.The Fergusson affair: Calvinism and dissimulation in the Scottish Enlightenment
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/12390
2016-06-27T00:00:00ZKidd, Colin CraigThomas Hobbes: theorist of the law
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/11108
This short article introduces the papers that follow on the topic of Hobbes as a theorist of the law. It provides an overview of Hobbes reputation as a theorist of law in both domestic and international theory. The paper summarizes the papers that follow and suggest how they fit into the wider literature on Hobbes, legal theory, and constitutional theory.
2015-12-28T00:00:00ZLang, Anthony F.Slomp, GabriellaThis short article introduces the papers that follow on the topic of Hobbes as a theorist of the law. It provides an overview of Hobbes reputation as a theorist of law in both domestic and international theory. The paper summarizes the papers that follow and suggest how they fit into the wider literature on Hobbes, legal theory, and constitutional theory.Magna Carta
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/9444
3rd edition of classic work, with new introduction and additional material
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZHolt, James3rd edition of classic work, with new introduction and additional materialThe Grail of original meaning : uses of the past in American constitutional theory
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/9081
Originalist jurisprudence, which enjoins a faithful adherence to the values enshrined in the late eighteenth-century Constitution, has become a prominent feature of contemporary American conservatism. Recovering the original meaning of the Constitution is far from straightforward, and raises major issues of historical interpretation. How far do the assumed historical underpinnings of originalist interpretation mesh with the findings of academic historians? To what extent has the conservative invocation of the Founding Fathers obscured a lost American Enlightenment? Nor is ‘tradition’ in American Constitutional law an unproblematic matter. How far does a desire to restore the original meaning of the Constitution ignore the role of ‘stare decisis’ (precedent) in America's common law heritage? It transpires, moreover, that the various schemes of historical interpretation in American Constitutional jurisprudence do not map easily onto a simple liberal–conservative divide.
2016-12-01T00:00:00ZKidd, Colin CraigOriginalist jurisprudence, which enjoins a faithful adherence to the values enshrined in the late eighteenth-century Constitution, has become a prominent feature of contemporary American conservatism. Recovering the original meaning of the Constitution is far from straightforward, and raises major issues of historical interpretation. How far do the assumed historical underpinnings of originalist interpretation mesh with the findings of academic historians? To what extent has the conservative invocation of the Founding Fathers obscured a lost American Enlightenment? Nor is ‘tradition’ in American Constitutional law an unproblematic matter. How far does a desire to restore the original meaning of the Constitution ignore the role of ‘stare decisis’ (precedent) in America's common law heritage? It transpires, moreover, that the various schemes of historical interpretation in American Constitutional jurisprudence do not map easily onto a simple liberal–conservative divide.Shared political responsibiilty
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/9077
This chapter explores the nature of political responsibilty in relation to climate change. It argues that rather than identify specific agents responsible for climate change - an approach that dominates legal and moral theory - a political responsibility framework provides ways of thinking about global dilemmas in terms of political actions that we may undertake together. It draws on the theoretical notion of 'shared responsibility' to develop this concept.
2015-10-01T00:00:00ZLang, AnthonyThis chapter explores the nature of political responsibilty in relation to climate change. It argues that rather than identify specific agents responsible for climate change - an approach that dominates legal and moral theory - a political responsibility framework provides ways of thinking about global dilemmas in terms of political actions that we may undertake together. It draws on the theoretical notion of 'shared responsibility' to develop this concept.Taqizadeh and European civilisation
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/8947
The leading Iranian intellectual and nationalist Hasan Taqizadeh has been roundly condemned by posterity for his call to Iranians to embrace European civilisation in its entirety without qualification or compromise. Taqizadeh himself later conceded that the form of words he had used were injudicious, but he added that his intention had been to galvanise Iranians out of their self-destructive political stupor and it remains a reality that many of Taqizadeh's contemporaries were supportive of his call to arms. This paper reassesses Taqizadeh's position in the context of his historical and intellectual environment, which it is argued drew heavily from a “Whig” reading of the Enlightenment progress. It shows that Taqizadeh was not alone in drawing on this narrative while maintaining an important distinction between the positive aspects of British political thought and the shortcomings of British policy.
2017-07-13T00:00:00ZAnsari, Ali MassoudThe leading Iranian intellectual and nationalist Hasan Taqizadeh has been roundly condemned by posterity for his call to Iranians to embrace European civilisation in its entirety without qualification or compromise. Taqizadeh himself later conceded that the form of words he had used were injudicious, but he added that his intention had been to galvanise Iranians out of their self-destructive political stupor and it remains a reality that many of Taqizadeh's contemporaries were supportive of his call to arms. This paper reassesses Taqizadeh's position in the context of his historical and intellectual environment, which it is argued drew heavily from a “Whig” reading of the Enlightenment progress. It shows that Taqizadeh was not alone in drawing on this narrative while maintaining an important distinction between the positive aspects of British political thought and the shortcomings of British policy.The impact of the Security Council on the efficacy of the International Criminal Court and the responsibility to protect
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/8337
This article argues that the manner in which the Security Council inhibits the consistent application of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and International Criminal Court (ICC) referrals reinforces their power in the international order without creating long term peace and stability. The Security Council’s discretionary powers allow it to subjectively determine which situations to address and which lawbreakers to prosecute; this consolidates, and indeed expands, the power of the Security Council in relation to other agents of international law. As a result, international cooperation to protect and promote human rights and punish human rights violators is currently impeded. This article argues that those concerned with the consistent enforcement of international human rights law, and the punishment of human rights violators, must accept the need for reforms to the current international order that would allow a better integration of R2P and the ICC into international law and practice. Our reforms – advanced in the form of general principles taken from legal theory – propose altering the Security Council’s powers and developing new judicial structures to enable the more consistent application of international law
2015-03-01T00:00:00ZHehir, AidanLang, AnthonyThis article argues that the manner in which the Security Council inhibits the consistent application of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and International Criminal Court (ICC) referrals reinforces their power in the international order without creating long term peace and stability. The Security Council’s discretionary powers allow it to subjectively determine which situations to address and which lawbreakers to prosecute; this consolidates, and indeed expands, the power of the Security Council in relation to other agents of international law. As a result, international cooperation to protect and promote human rights and punish human rights violators is currently impeded. This article argues that those concerned with the consistent enforcement of international human rights law, and the punishment of human rights violators, must accept the need for reforms to the current international order that would allow a better integration of R2P and the ICC into international law and practice. Our reforms – advanced in the form of general principles taken from legal theory – propose altering the Security Council’s powers and developing new judicial structures to enable the more consistent application of international law