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Prof. Thomas FleinerComparative
Constitutional Las
Intensive CourseSpring 2008
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Goals of this course:
Challenges and limits of compara-tive legal science;different methods of comparativeconstitutional law;enable students to compare and Evaluate different constitutionalsystems;few chosen issues of comparativeconstitutional Law
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Methods and outline of the course:
Method: Introduction into four differentIssues and in the following course dis-
cussion on those issues based on presentations by the students
Issues:Introduction: Problems and Methods of Comparative lawLegitimacyPrinciples of Good GovernanceGovernmental Systems
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Why Comparative Law?
- To understand its proper System(Swiss Governmental System)
- To get new Ideas(Environmental Protection)
- To evaluate other SytemsVenice Commission
- To cooperate Internationally(Common Law – Continental law)
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Challenge of Comparative Law
We read texts of legislation or textsOf judicial decisions But we should know the context:Implementation, History, Economy,Social situation, understanding by the Peoples, philsophical, ethical values
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Methods
1.Description and explanation of an other SystemPoint of view, e.g. judiciary
2. Evaluate the chances of a constitutional caseWith regard to access to justice, argumentation,Independence of judiciary, power of the judiciaryCriteria: Rule of Law3. Understand the reasons for different develop-ments with regard to history, legal culture, economy, social factors
4. Make an over all analyses of the system withRegard to fundamental criteria’s of good gover-nance
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Comparing ConstitutionalLaw by the judiciary
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Comparative Constitutional lawby the courts
South African Constitution:Section 39 Interpretation of Bill of Rights (1)When interpreting the Bill of Rights, a court, tribunal or forum - (a)must promote the values that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom; (b) must consider international law; and (c) may consider foreign law. (2) When interpreting any legislation, and when developing the common law or customary law, every court, tribunal or forum must promote the spirit, purport and objects of the Bill of Rights.
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Questions with regard toSouth Africa for the Swiss
Judiciary:
1.Would you favor such a provision withinour Swiss constitution? Why yes, why no?
2. Why should judges take into account foreign law and foreign court decisions?
3. Is our legal profession prepared to takeforeign law into account?
4. Scalia - Breyer on foreign law :
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Scalia: Distinction between ConstitutionMaking and Constitution interpreting
Now, my theory of what I do when I interpret the American Constitution is I try to understand what it meant, what was understood by the society to mean when it was adopted. And I don't think it changes since then.
Hard cases: Death penaltyTax evasion
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Different bodies to useComparative constitutional law
For different reasons:
Legislatures, constitution makers: to getNew ideas
Judges: to find justice
Scholars: to understand the proper systemTo understand other systemsInternational community: to evaluate otherConstitutions, under universal principals
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Special Case ofComparative Federalism
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Decon-centrationadministra-tive Decision OrderRevoca-tion
Decentrali-SationLegislationAutonomyResponsi-BilityFinance
FederationConstitu-TionConstitu-tion ma-kingLegitimacy
Confede-RationTreatyLegitimacyInternatio-nal court
FederalismUnitary state - Confederation
Decentralization
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Institutions are the means through which federal government is deliveredConsider two categories:
Specifically federal institutionsInstitutions of democratic constitutional government
These categories are interdependentFederalism affects democratic institutions and the choice of democratic institutions affects federalism
Institutions
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Value of Comparative Federalism
How did others designinstitutions to deal with the particular needs of their societiesideas about institutional design for emerging federationsmodels for adoption and adaptationExemples: South Africa
India Ethiopia
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Variations between federations• Degrees of diversity• State of the pre-federal state(s)• Legal system
– Legal philosophy– Doctrine
• History• Other?
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Institutional building blocks: overview
• A division of powers• Two (+) spheres of government• A division of resources• Constituent representation in central
institutions• (some) constituent autonomy with own
institutions• Prescribed common standards in relation to, for
example, governance, rights, economic union• Entrenched Constitution, effectively enforced
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Two spheres of government• Representing the people, grouped in
different ways, allowing the emergence of different majorities & minorities
• How many units?– Not too many, not too few…
• Borders. – How are they drawn & changed?– According to what criteria?
• Symmetry or asymmetry
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Division of powers• What powers?
– Potentially, legislative, executive, judicial• How?
– Horizontal/vertical/mixed– Exclusive/concurrent/shared– Provision for co-operation?
• Who gets what?• NB:implications of the answers to these
questions for the institutional structure of all governments
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Division of resources• This includes taxation, other revenues,
loan funds, grants• Mechanism likely to be influenced by the
approach to the division of powers– Horizontal/vertical– Exclusive/concurrent
• Fiscal Equalisation– Bases– Process– Constitutional mandate?
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Challenges
Each federation has a set of interlocking institutions with a structural logic of their own, through which the values of both federalism and constitutional government are metThe operation of these institutions may be affected by the wider contextBoth logic and context need to be appre-ciated to understand another system (and to borrow from it)
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Some Examples of Prototypes
United StatesPresidential
System2nd chamberCompetitiveFederalismGoal of FJudiciary
GermanyParliamentary
System2nd chamber
ExecutiveFederalismGoal of FJudiciary
SwitzerlandDirectorial
System2nd chamber
ExecutiveFederalismGoal of FJudiciary
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Some examples of adaption
AustraliaAmerican
System withParliamentaryGovernment
And one Common Law
SwitzerlandAmerican
SenateFrench legal
SystemDirect
Democracy
EuropeanUnion
GermanSecond ChamberDirectorial
System
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Concluding Remarks
Comparative Law requires a clear notionOf the point of Reference
This point can be one of the two constitutionscompared
Tertium comparationis: Principles of GoodGovernance