Roberto Gargarella has always placed distribution of access to political and economic power at the center of the analysis. This article focuses on his argument that participation might be able to improve material inequality. It argues that inequality can be confronted directly or indirectly, and that sometimes, participation is not the best mechanism for addressing inequality. The article draws on case studies from Japan and the Philippines to illustrate its argument. ; Roberto Gargarella siempre ha colocado la distribución del acceso al poder político y económico en el centro del análisis. Este artículo se centra en su argumento de que la participación podría mejorar la desigualdad material. Sostiene que la desigualdad puede ser enfrentada directa o indirectamente y que, a veces, la participación no es el mejor mecanismo para abordar la desigualdad. El artículo utiliza estudios de caso sobre Japón y Filipinas para ilustrar su argumento.
This article surveys the history and practice of providing constitutional advice. It first examines antecedents, then looks at the contemporary political economy of the process, drawing on the transnational legal order (TLO) framework to evaluate whether or not it can be characterized as a TLO. The answer is a partial yes. We focus on one feature of the modern situation, the presence of corporate actors—including the United Nations, NGOs, and international organizations—in an increasingly dense social field. This development has laid bare tensions and competition among actors, moving the field toward a nascent TLO that is nevertheless unlikely to fully consolidate or institutionalize. We conclude that the field evidences aspects of a transnational legal order but also serves as an arena in which other TLOs contest over outcomes.
Die Verabschiedung des Gesetzes über das Verwaltungsverfahren im Jahr 1993 wurde seinerzeit als großer Modernisierungsschritt gepriesen. Der Beitrag nimmt das Gesetz zum Anlaß für eine kritische Analyse der Ausübung von Herrschaft durch die japanische Obrigkeit und kommt zu dem Ergebnis, daß kein grundlegender Wechsel in der japanischen Verwaltungspraxis bewirkt worden sei. In einem systemtheoretischen Ansatz zeigt der Verfasser, daß die politischen Akteure in Japan vielmehr ein "geschlossenes" System der Kommunikation in Form einer von ihnen kontrollierten diskursiven Arena entwickelt hätten, in der wenige ausgewählte private Akteure unter Berücksichtigung der strategischen Interessen der Bürokratie Handlungsalternativen entwickeln könnten, ohne daß diese hoheitlich qua Gesetz oder Verordnung durchgesetzt werden müßten. Das entscheidende Element sei die Strukturierung des Verhandlungsprozesses durch die Verwaltung, die es erlaubt habe, eine drohende Einmischung von außen zugunsten des Machterhalts der Verwaltung abzuwehren.(die Red.) ; Die Verabschiedung des Gesetzes über das Verwaltungsverfahren im Jahr 1993 wurde seinerzeit als großer Modernisierungsschritt gepriesen. Der Beitrag nimmt das Gesetz zum Anlaß für eine kritische Analyse der Ausübung von Herrschaft durch die japanische Obrigkeit und kommt zu dem Ergebnis, daß kein grundlegender Wechsel in der japanischen Verwaltungspraxis bewirkt worden sei. In einem systemtheoretischen Ansatz zeigt der Verfasser, daß die politischen Akteure in Japan vielmehr ein "geschlossenes" System der Kommunikation in Form einer von ihnen kontrollierten diskursiven Arena entwickelt hätten, in der wenige ausgewählte private Akteure unter Berücksichtigung der strategischen Interessen der Bürokratie Handlungsalternativen entwickeln könnten, ohne daß diese hoheitlich qua Gesetz oder Verordnung durchgesetzt werden müßten. Das entscheidende Element sei die Strukturierung des Verhandlungsprozesses durch die Verwaltung, die es erlaubt habe, eine drohende Einmischung von außen zugunsten des Machterhalts der Verwaltung abzuwehren.(die Red.)
Magna Carta's status as a touchstone of modern thinking about the rule of law rests on several well-known myths. This article evaluates the influence of Magna Carta on modern constitutions, both in termsof formation as well as content. The analysis confirms that Magna Carta's relevance is, if anything, onthe rise, even if the causal chains linking it to current developments are weak-linked and distant. Wespeculate on the mysterious processes that produce influence among legal texts, arguing that championsand empire are crucial factors in the case of Magna Carta. ; Government
Drafters of new constitutions face a bewildering array of choices as they seek to design stable and workable political institutions for their societies. One such set of choices concerns the status of international law in the domestic legal order. In a global era, with an expanding array of customary and treaty norms purporting to regulate formerly domestic behavior, this question takes on political salience. This paper seeks to describe the phenomenon of constitutional incorporation of international law in greater detail and provide a preliminary empirical test of the competing explanations for it. First, the discussion focuses on the concepts of monism and dualism, which have become conventional terms used by lawyers to describe the interaction of domestic and international legal systems. Second, a theory of commitments as well as the advantages and disadvantages of international law are set forth. Third, empirical implications are developed for the precommitment and diffusion theories, which are then tested. Findings show that adopting international law is a useful strategy for democracies to lock in particular policies, encourage trust in governments and state regimes, and bolster global reputations.
Drafters of new constitutions face a bewildering array of choices as they seek to design stable and workable political institutions for their societies. One such set of choices concerns the status of international law in the domestic legal order. In a global era, with an expanding array of customary and treaty norms purporting to regulate formerly domestic behavior, this question takes on political salience. This paper seeks to describe the phenomenon of constitutional incorporation of international law in greater detail and provide a preliminary empirical test of the competing explanations for it. First, the discussion focuses on the concepts of monism and dualism, which have become conventional terms used by lawyers to describe the interaction of domestic and international legal systems. Second, a theory of commitments as well as the advantages and disadvantages of international law are set forth. Third, empirical implications are developed for the precommitment and diffusion theories, which are then tested. Findings show that adopting international law is a useful strategy for democracies to lock in particular policies, encourage trust in governments and state regimes, and bolster global reputations.
This Article examines the adoption of rights in national constitutions in the post-World War II period in light of claims of global convergence. Using a comprehensive database on the contents of the world's constitutions, we observe a qualified convergence on the content of rights. Nearly every single right has increased in prevalence since its introduction, but very few are close to universal. We show that interna- tional rights documents, starting with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have shaped the rights menu of national constitutions in powerful ways. These covenants appear to coordinate the behavior of domestic drafters, whether or not the drafters' countries are legally committed to the agreements (though commitment enhances the effect). Our particular focus is on the all-important International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, whose ratification inclines countries towards rights they, apparently, would not otherwise adopt. This finding confirms the complementary relationship between treaty ratification and domestic constitutional norms, and suggests that one important channel of treaty efficacy may be through domestic constitutions. ; Government
Executive term limits are precommitments through which the polity restricts its ability to retain a popular executive down the road. But in recent years, many presidents around the world have chosen to remain in office even after their initial maximum term in office has expired. They have largely done so by amending the constitution, sometimes by replacing it entirely. The practice of revising higher law for the sake of a particular incumbent raises intriguing issues that touch ultimately on the normative justification for term limits in the first place. This Article reviews the normative debate over term limits and identifies the key claims of proponents and opponents. It introduces the idea of characterizing term limits as a type of default rule executives may overcome if sufficient political support is apparent. It then turns to historical evidence to assess the probability of attempts, both successful and unsuccessful, to evade term limits. It finds that, notwithstanding some high-profile cases, executives observe term limits with remarkable frequency in consolidated democracies. The final Part considers alternative institutional designs that may accomplish some of the goals of term limits, but finds that none are likely to provide a perfect substitute. Term limits have the advantage of clarity, which very likely increases their enforceability, and they should be considered an effective part of the arsenal of democratic institutions. ; Government
Public involvement in constitution making is increasingly considered to be essential for the legitimacy and effectiveness of the process. It is also becoming more widespread, spurred on by constitutional advisors and the international community. Yet we have remarkably little empirical evidence of the impact of participation on outcomes. This essay examines hypotheses on the effect of one aspect of public participation in the constitution-making process—ratification— and surveys available evidence. We find some limited support for the optimistic view about the impact of ratification on legitimacy, conflict, and constitutional endurance. ; Government
Drafters of new constitutions face a bewildering array of choices as they seek to design stable and workable political institutions for their societies. One such set of choices concerns the status of interna- tional law in the domestic legal order. In a global era, with an ex- panding array of customary and treaty norms purporting to regulate formerly domestic behavior, this question takes on political salience. This paper seeks to describe the phenomenon of constitutional incor- poration of international law in greater detail and provide a prelimi- nary empirical test of the competing explanations for it. First, the dis- cussion focuses on the concepts of monism and dualism, which have become conventional terms used by lawyers to describe the interac- tion of domestic and international legal systems. Second, a theory of commitments as well as the advantages and disadvantages of interna- tional law are set forth. Third, empirical implications are developed for the precommitment and diffusion theories, which are then tested. Findings show that adopting international law is a useful strategy for democracies to lock in particular policies, encourage trust in govern- ments and state regimes, and bolster global reputations. ; Government
Constitutional design and redesign is constant. Over the last 200 years, countries have replaced their constitutions an average of every 19 years and some have amended them almost yearly. A basic problem in the drafting of these documents is the search and analysis of model text deployed in other jurisdictions. Traditionally, this process has been ad hoc and the results suboptimal. As a result, drafters generally lack systematic information about the institutional options and choices available to them. In order to address this informational need, the investigators developed a web application, Constitute [online at http://www.constituteproject.org], with the use of semantic technologies. Constitute provides searchable access to the world's constitutions using the conceptualization, texts, and data developed by the Comparative Constitutions Project. An OWL ontology represents 330 ''topics'' – e.g. right to health – with which the investigators have tagged relevant provisions of nearly all constitutions in force as of September of 2013. The tagged texts were then converted to an RDF representation using R2RML mappings and Capsenta's Ultrawrap. The portal implements semantic search features to allow constitutional drafters to read, search, and compare the world's constitutions. The goal of the project is to improve the efficiency and systemization of constitutional design and, thus, to support the independence and self-reliance of constitutional drafters. ; Government
