Legal Theory in the Crucible of Constitutional Justice: A Study of Judges and Political Morality in Canada, Ireland and Italy

by Rory O'Connell

This title was first published in 2000: Constitutional adjudication straddles law and politics, legal and political theory. Referring to legal controversies in Canada (free expression), Ireland (sexual morality) and Italy (religion), this book demonstrates how constitutional judgements rely upon unarticulated political commitments. Decisions do not rely just on the formal sources of law, but also unacknowledged political morality as part of the nature of law itself. Examining this link will enable lawyers to understand how the criteria of political moral arguments affect and are affected by, legal arguments. This interaction between law and morality allows us to escape the dichotomy of natural law versus positivism in a time when judges increasingly act as moral guardians.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1138726931
• ISBN13: 9781138726932
• Release Date: December 2023
• Publisher: Routledge