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In the wake of the 'Kant revival,' which has spawned a plethora of works on his philosophy by its contemporary interpreters & advocates such as Herbert Schnadelbach, Hans Lenk, Konrad Cramer, Wilhelm Vossenkuhl, Volker Gerhardt, Karl-Otto Apel, Otfried Hoffe & others (whose studies were published this year under the title of Kant in der Diskussion der Moderne), the author tries to prove, by means of an analysis of Kant's treatise Uber den Gemeinspruch: Das mag in der Theorie richtig sein, taugt aber nicht fur die Praxis, that not only did Kant in his later works draft & expound the program of a practical philosophy of morality & right, politics, & history, but also that in the last three chapters of this work, this philosophy evolves into a modern liberal theory of morality, state law, & international or "international civil" law built around the central principle of Kant's practical philosophy: "Was aus Vernunftgrunden fur die Theorie gilt, das gilt auch fur die Praxis.". Adapted from the source document.

The author draws our attention to the European unfamiliarity with American political thought. He also talks about Jefferson's natural law theory that he took over from Locke & adapted to American circumstances. The features of American political thought are outlined by means of comparing common law & rule of law with the concept of Rechtstaat. The author suggests that natural law & common law are a powerful determinant of the concept of republicanism that deeply influences American political thought. Adapted from the source document.

There are prima facie reasons why political parties should be recognized as public law persons of the Croatian legal system: Political parties play a leading role in the creation & implementation of the state's will. Continental European legal systems distinguish between public & private law: the Croatian Constitution prescribes that political parties are associations with the features typical of public law persons. What requires analysis is the nature & consequences of the public law personality of political parties. Aristotle's theory of justice is still a useful starting point for distinguishing between public & private law, & between public & private law persons. The theory demonstrates that both the political community & the economic market presuppose standards of conduct that regulate interaction of their members. The standards include two essential types of legal acts, namely, statutes, which are fundamental acts of public law, & contracts, which are fundamental acts of private law. The dichotomy of legal acts implies virtually all the criteria that Roman & Continental lawyers have found important for distinguishing public & private law (source, bindingness, hierarchy, interest, subjects, etc). The division of a legal system into private & public law can be positivized in several ways. However, a liberal, democratic, & social legal system ought to meet the following principles, which guarantee the public law status of political parties: explicit recognition of the public law personality; justiciability; constitutionality; transparency; democracy; solidarity. The principles are followed by the Draft Bill on Political Parties, which was prepared by the Croatian Law Center in May 2002 & was adopted, with some changes, by the Committee on Constitution, Rules of Order, & Political System of the Croatian Parliament in July 2002. 90 References. Adapted from the source document.

Using the contemporary system theories, the author primarily points to the asymmetry of the constitutional law & the political processes it so rarely regulates. Then he goes on to analyze the historical process of separating the custom law, oral law & written law, of the court & the courtroom, the law & the constitution, the constitution & its interpretation, the constitution's interpretation, & the constitutional theory, & concludes his study with a description of the difference between constitution & democracy in the postmodern categorical optics. Adapted from the source document.

The author looks into the meaning of law in Kant's practical philosophy for the constitution of a political community. First, he defines the specific character of modern knowledge by referring to Heidegger & Fink & how this knowledge is reflected in Kant's philosophy of morality & law. Then he goes on to define the external legislation & list its applications. After the author has defined Kant's concept of law, he shows how freedom & its security -- not happiness, well-being, or interest -- are central to Kant's political philosophy. Freedom becomes the foundation of all activities & laws, & freedom can only be based on law & not morality. Thus, individual freedom is possible solely within a law-abiding community. Adapted from the source document.

The author looks at a book with the promising title Law and Revolution, particularly, promising to those prone to think about law strategically. Starting from the main points of the book & of some interpretations of legal history that qualify these points, the author then demonstrates how negligible appear to be the possibilities of strategic action in the renewal & development of Croatian law. Adapted from the source document.

The author looks into the position of the Constitutional Court in the light of the proposed Constitutional Law on amendments & modifications of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court that would change some powers of the Constitutional Court. A short historical review shows that the Croatian people belong to the European civilizational setting, as evidenced by numerous documents & statutes that have regulated the rule of law in Croatia. According to the Croatian Constitution, the Constitutional Court is assigned a special place outside the system of the division of power into the legislative, the executive, & the judiciary; it is a special constitutional category that cannot be under the scrutiny of law since it scrutinizes laws. The author goes on to enumerate the changes in the jurisdiction & the operation of the Court envisaged in this new proposal of the Constitutional Law. The author concludes that constitutional courts are the very core of Western democracy & that they protect constitutions as a constantly developing living form. 59 References. Adapted from the source document.

In the introductory part of the essay, the author looks into the connection between the establishment & attributes of the so-called state of law & the legal system of continental Europe. This is followed by his summary of the origins of the idea of the state of law & its historical setting. In the middle part of the essay the author offers a list of values, value principles & the premises of the so-called state of law with the corresponding conclusions about a marked, multilevel/multiple restricted meaning & scope of the (mostly) dogmatic, formal/legal principles of the so-called state of law. The author concludes the essay with a rough appraisal of the condition of the so-called state of art in the Republic of Croatia. 51 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author compares the new law on higher education with the program demanded by the Croatian Social-Liberal Party. This is a two-level comparison: a direct comparison of excerpts from the text & the articles of the law, & an indirect comparison of fundamental principles & general policies. The law plays lip service to the requirements for private universities, autonomy, & ideological neutrality. In implementation of the law, the procedures as well as the law itself have been contravened. This is illustrated by a detailed outline of the unsatisfactory provisions of the law & the U of Zagreb statute regarding students. Adapted from the source document.

The author compares the new law on higher education with the program demanded by the Croatian Social-Liberal Party. This is a two-level comparison: a direct comparison of excerpts from the text & the articles of the law, & an indirect comparison of fundamental principles & general policies. The law plays lip service to the requirements for private universities, autonomy, & ideological neutrality. In implementation of the law, the procedures as well as the law itself have been contravened. This is illustrated by a detailed outline of the unsatisfactory provisions of the law & the U of Zagreb statute regarding students. Adapted from the source document.

The author looks into the notion of the rule of law from the functional/logical, & not historical standpoint: he starts from the hypothesis that there is the functional logic of managing social behavior & social developments by means of legal norms. This logic, with some preconditions, creates certain institutions. The recognition of members of a society as free & equal is the fundamental assumption. It means that government agencies have the right of independent action but are at the same time also disempowered. This requires the quality of laws to be evaluated on the basis of rationality & normativity. The second part of the text lists the institutional conditions for the rule of law: division of power, legal restrictions of all government institutions & independent judiciary. A guarantee of basic right must be included in these functional elements. The author thinks that our future is to be marked by social pluralization, the need for security & the concurrent processes of globalization, & individualization. These processes are surely going to affect the institutions of the state of law. 43 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author discusses the political effects of Hungarian electoral law on the formation of the Hungarian parliament. Although the makers of the new electoral law argued that the democratic legislative body should widely & justly represent all interests, points of view, & opinions of the electoral body, electoral law only partly stimulates proportionality. The disproportionate effects of the Hungarian electoral law (system) have been caused, according to the author, by several elements: namely, the prohibitive clause, the application of the electoral number procedure (the Hagenbach-Bischoff method & the Hare method), the two-thirds rule for the distribution of the remaining mandates, & the size of the electoral districts. In the 1990 parliamentary elections, the combined electoral system (that fuses electoral systems belonging to two different types -- the majority & the proportional system) achieved one of its basic political aims; it made great party fragmentation on the parliamentary level impossible, although a comparatively large number of political parties participated in the electoral process. One of the first effects of Hungarian electoral law on the formation of the Hungarian parliament was a reduction of multiparliamentarism. 8 Tables, 33 References. Adapted from the source document.