This examination of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) traces the American origins of the belief that the citizens of a democracy have a natural right to know about the workings of their government. The issue began in the colonies and came to a head in the 1950s when escalating government secrecy led the press to demand open government. Declaring that the public business is the public's business, a series of crusading newspaper editors aroused public support for the Freedom of Information Act which was passed in 1966.

The book features in-depth interviews with the architects of the FOIA, the FOIA staff in the major federal agencies, and the most prominent FOIA users throughout the country. The concluding chapter examines current impediments to the full realization of the people's right to know.

This volume contains nine national reports and the general report on the subject of developing trends of parliamentarism. Except for the chapters on Spain, the reports have been written for the XIVth Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law which was held in 1994 in Athens, Greece. "Parliamentarism" describes the evolution of a specific form of Government adopted by many countries whose political systems have been inspired by the principle of democracy. As a consequence of this, one or more elected assemblies hold a leading position in their constitutional organization. Both the general report as well as the national reports address the current problems regarding parliamentarism, viz., the structure of Parliaments, the ways regulated and the delimitation of the functions of Parliament with the aim of maximizing its orientating function in the activity of its citizens through a constant updating of existing legislation.

Based on empirical investigation and an interdisciplinary approach, this book offers a crucial theoretical work on China's basic-level judicial system and a masterpiece by Professor Suli Zhu, a prominent jurist on modern China. Its primary goal is to identify issues - ones that can only be effectively sensed and raised by China's jurists because of their unique circumstances and cultural background - that are of practical significance in China's basic-level judicial system, and of theoretical significance to juristic systems in general. Divided into four parts, the book begins with a discussion of the systematic and theoretical problems in China's basic-level judicial system at the macro-, meso- and micro- scale. In the second part, it examines the technology and knowledge to be found in the basic-level judicial system, so as to make the traditionally "invisible" technology and knowledge of trial judges available for general theoretical analyses. The third part focuses on the judge and other legal personnel in the judicial system, while the last part discusses the value of legal sociology surveys as powerful resources. This book not only presents essential features of China's judicial system by precisely describing key issues in its basic-level judicial system, but also offers well-founded content that accentuates the significance of social management innovation.

Foreword by Randy E. BarnettIn 2012, the United States Supreme Court became the centre of the political world. In a dramatic and unexpected 5-4 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts voted on narrow grounds to save the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. Unprecedented tells the inside story of how the challenge to Obamacare raced across all three branches of government, and narrowly avoided a constitutional collision between the Supreme Court and President Obama. On November 13, 2009, a group of Federalist Society lawyers met in the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., to devise a legal challenge to the constitutionality of President Obama's legacy",his healthcare reform. It seemed a very long shot, and was dismissed peremptorily by the White House, much of Congress, most legal scholars, and all of the media. Two years later the fight to overturn the Affordable Care Act became a political and legal firestorm. When, finally, the Supreme Court announced its ruling, the judgment was so surprising that two cable news channels misreported it and announced that the Act had been declared unconstitutional. Unprecedented offers unrivaled inside access to how key decisions were made in Washington, based on interviews with over one hundred of the people who lived this journey,including the academics who began the challenge, the attorneys who litigated the case at all levels, and Obama administration attorneys who successfully defended the law. It reads like a political thriller, provides the definitive account of how the Supreme Court almost struck down President Obama's unprecedented" law, and explains what this decision means for the future of the Constitution, the limits on federal power, and the Supreme Court.

This volume presents a variety of both normative and descriptive perspectives on the use of precedent by the United States Supreme Court. It brings together a diverse group of American legal scholars, some of whom have been influenced by the Segal/Spaeth "attitudinal" model and some of whom have not. The group of contributors includes legal theorists and empiricists, constitutional lawyers and legal generalists, leading authorities and up-and-coming scholars. The book addresses questions such as how the Court establishes durable precedent, how the Court decides to overrule precedent, the effects of precedent on case selection, the scope of constitutional precedent, the influence of concurrences and dissents, and the normative foundations of constitutional precedent. Most of these questions have been addressed by the Court itself only obliquely, if at all. The volume will be valuable to readers both in the United States and abroad, particularly in light of ongoing debates over the role of precedent in civil-law nations and emerging legal systems.

For years the European Union has been looked on as a potential model for cosmopolitan governance, and enjoyed considerable influence on the global stage. The EU has a uniquely strong and legally binding mission statement to pursue international relations on a multilateral basis, founded on the progressive development of international law. The political vision was for the EU to export its values of the rule of law and sophisticated governance mechanisms to the international sphere. Globalization and the financial crisis have starkly illustrated the limits of this vision, and the EU's dependence on global forces partially beyond the control of traditional provinces of law. This book takes stock of the EU's role in global governance. It asks: to what extent can and does the EU shape and influence the on-going re-ordering of legal processes, principles, and institutions of global governance, in line with its optimistic mission statement? With this ambitious remit it covers the legal-institutional and substantive aspects of global security, trade, environmental, financial, and social governance. Across these topics 23 contributors have taken the central question of the extent of the EU's influence on global governance, providing a broad view across the key areas as well as a detailed analysis of each. Through comparison and direct engagement with each other, the different chapters provide a distinctive contribution to legal scholarship on global governance, from a European perspective.

This supplemental volume expands upon the seven-volume edition of Constitutional Documents of the United States of America 1776 1860, which was published from 2006 to 2009. It contains 14 constitutional documents from 8 different U.S. states which were recently made accessible for the first time in American libraries and archives. Among the documents in the collection are the constitution of the short-lived Republic of Indian Stream, which succeeded from New Hampshire from 1832 to 1835, as well as rare constitutional documents from New Mexico and Texas written in both Spanish and English. The texts have been edited, annotated, and indexed on the basis of the original manuscripts and (in certain cases rare) original prints produced by the official state or constitutional convention printing presses."

This book is intended to offer a constructive overview of the essential and most intriguing issues within the study of separation of powers. It is also designed to be a casebook from which an engaging course on the subject can be taught.Primarily through review and discussion of 39 carefully selected cases, the book covers topics such as the scope of Executive Branch power and privilege, Congressional authority and prerogatives, and the role of the courts in refereeing disputes between the political branches. The final two (of ten) chapters focus on the shared war power; its historical uses, abuses, and limits; and how the 21st century's War on Terror has occasioned greater judicial oversight on its exercise, particularly with respect to the treatment of enemy combatants.Many other cases are referenced to illustrate specific points, and other materials -- such as internal Executive Branch legal memos, congressional authorizations for the use of force, and selected Federalist Papers -- are used to provide context for the operation of separation of powers principles. Discussion and questions throughout the book challenge the reader to think critically about whether, in practice, the separation of powers framework set forth in the Constitution is playing out as the Framers intended. The reader is also asked to consider how separation of powers questions would be answered in hypothetical situations not yet addressed by the courts. About the AuthorAfter graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law, Thomas Beck spent 16 years practicing law in Washington, DC. He has appeared in federal and state trial courts throughout the United States and has argued several cases in the United States Courts of Appeals. In 2008, after being nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate, he became Chairman of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). At the FLRA, he has participated in published decisions resolving nearly 500 legal disputes. He has taught courses on separation of powers and the legislative process at the George Mason University School of Law. As this book goes to print, he has been nominated by President Barack Obama to be a Member of the National Mediation Board and his nomination is pending in the Senate.

This comprehensive case law book examines the evolution of judicial interpretation of the scope and limitations of presidential power. From interbranch struggles for power, to presidential selection, to campaign financing, to war powers, hardly an issue arises for the modern presidency that does not eventually find itself framed as a legal problem to be addressed by the courts. Each section provides an introduction providing background and framework for students. Throughout, the analysis is informed by the view that court decisions are framed by legal arguments and constitute legal issuances and are also framed by politics, and have profound political consequences. Coinciding with a broader intellectual and disciplinary return to institutions and law as key to understanding the presidency and modern politics, this book will find special favour among scholars who teach courses on the presidency and related areas.

With the specter of prosecution after his term is over and the possibility of disbarment in Arkansas hanging over President Clinton, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and the events that have followed it show no sign of abating. The question has become what to do, and how to think, about those eight months. Did the President lie or was it plausible that he had truthfully testified to no sexual relationship? Was the job search for Monica just help for a friend or a sinister means of obtaining silence? Even if all the charges were true, did impeachment follow or was censure enough? And what are the lasting repercussions on the office of the Presidency?

Aftermath: The Clinton Impeachment and the Presidency in the Age of Political Spectacle takes a multi-disciplinary approach to analyze the Clinton impeachment from political perspectives across the spectrum. The authors attempt to tease out the meanings of the scandal from the vantage point of law, religion, public opinion, and politics, both public and personal. Further, the impeachment itself is situated broadly within the contemporary American liberal state and mined for the contradictory possibilities for reconciliation it reveals in our culture.

Contributors: David T. Canon, John Cooper, Drucilla Cornell, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Robert W. Gordon, Lawrence Joseph, Leonard V. Kaplan, David Kennedy, Kenneth R. Mayer, Beverly I. Moran, Father Richard John Neuhaus, David Novak, Linda Denise Oakley, Elizabeth Rapaport, Lawrence Rosen, Eric Rothstein, Aviam Soifer, Lawrence M. Solan, Cass R. Sunstein, Stephen Toulmin, Leon Trakman, Frank Tuerkheimer, Mark V. Tushnet, Andrew D. Weiner, Robin L. West.

"Marcossen has written a good book. Its tone is appropriate, its arguments are provocative, and its subject matter is significant."--"The Law and Politics Book Review," Vol.12, No. 7

"Brilliantly dissecting Thomas' and his philosophical mentor Antonin Scalia's conservatism, Marcossen resembles a master debater delivering a crushing final summation."-- "Booklist," August 2002

"Without a doubt, this is one of the best pieces of constitutional law scholarship published in some time."
-- "Choice"

Originalism is the practice of reviewing constitutional cases by seeking to discern the framers' and ratifiers' intent. Original Sin argues that the "jurisprudence of original intent," represented on the current Supreme Court by Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, has failed on its own terms. Attempts to determine the framers' intent have not brought greater determinacy and legitimacy to the process of constitutional interpretation. Instead, the method has been marked by the very flaws--including self-interested reasoning and the manipulation of doctrine--that originalists argue marred the jurisprudence of the judicial "activists" of the Warren Court.

Original Sin brings a rigorous review of the performance of the "new originalists" to the debate, applying their methodology to real cases. Marcosson focuses on the judicial decisions of Clarence Thomas, an avowed originalist who nevertheless advocates "color blind" readings of the Constitution which are at odds with the framers' ideas concerning anti-miscegenation and other laws. After critiquing what he sees as a troubling use of originalism and explaining why it has failed to provide a consistent basis for constitutionaldecision-making, the author goes on to offer an alternative approach: one that lends greater legitimacy to the Court's interpretations of the Constitution.

Concepts such as e-voting, e-democracy, e-participation, online campaigning, and e-parliament are the most powerful proof of the use of ICTs in political activities, processes, and institutions. E-Parliament and ICT-Based Legislation: Concept, Experiences and Lessons presents a conceptual framework regarding e-parliament and analyzes the impacts of ICTs on the structure of parliament, its functions, relations with other actors, and the legislative process. As a result of the means and opportunities created by ICTs, parliaments have had a chance to simplify and integrate their administrative processes and involve citizens in legislative processes. This book reflects on new understandings, developments, and practices in parliaments within the framework of ICT usage.

This book gives a comprehensive account of the drafting of the EU Charter in the first Convention and shows the important contribution of this process to the constitutional development of the European Union. By drawing on a body of empirical data from the Convention in 1999-2000 it shows how the debates about a catalogue of fundamental rights for the EU prior to enlargement triggered a much wider discussion about the basis and basics of European integration. Thus it can shed new light on the EU's ongoing search for legitimacy.

Designed to succeed previous books on the Maastricht and Amsterdam treaties, this new work includes contributions from leading EU lawyers assessing the Nice Treaty and the Post-Nice process, which is rapidly developing in the lead-up to the next Intergovernmental conference. The book's central theme is the discussion of a European Constitution and European Constitutionalism. The new constitutional balance after institutional reform, the Luxembourg courts after Nice, the future of the three pillar Treaty structure and the Human Rights charter are the other main topics. Among the contributors are the editors, Professor Stephen Weatherill (Oxford), Professor Noreen Burrows (Glasgow), Professor Jrgen Schwarze (Freiburg), Professor Paul Craig (Oxford), Professor Jo Shaw (Manchester) Steve Peers (Essex) Professor Piet Eeckhout (King's College, London) and Professor Alan Dashwood (Cambridge).

Public anger at perceived ethical and legal failures in recent wars has reinforced the importance of understanding military ethics. Ethics, Law and Military Operations is one of the first texts to examine both the ethical and the legal considerations of contemporary military conflict. It adopts a practical approach to explore the ways in which legal and normative issues combine to affect the entire spectrum of military operations, from high-intensity conflict to peacekeeping activities and the provision of humanitarian aid. With an operational perspective in mind, this text delivers accessible frameworks for evaluating and applying fundamental legal and ethical concepts. Written by an international team of military practitioners and academics, this book provides interdisciplinary insights into the major issues facing military decision-makers. The first half of the book explores the ethical and legal underpinnings of warfare. Later chapters use case studies to examine specific issues in the contemporary operating environment.

The first edition of this textbook presented students with a variety of humanities-based readings in an effort to provide them with a culturally responsive approach to analyzing legal cases. The second edition of A Socio-Legal Approach to Constitutional Law: Cases and Controversies builds upon the previous edition and provides students with a clearer thematic approach and an even deeper commitment to culturally responsive analysis. Unit I presents constitutional law as a way of framing historical social change. The dual nature of constitutionalism is examined through competing conceptions of sovereignty. Unit II digs deeper into how the social production of difference is resisted by those experiencing injustice. In Unit III, readers are provided with the opportunity to apply the newly learned socio-legal framework to cases organized by theme, including racial injustice, gender and reproductive rights, privacy interests, political action committees and corporate influence, immigration and education rights, and climate change policy. The final unit returns to the framing of the constitution as a contradictory document that both reflects and produces social inequality. Developed to help students examine the most pressing civic challenges and controversies of today, A Socio-Legal Approach to Constitutional Law is ideal for courses in constitutional law, civic engagement, law and society, governmental institutions, and democratic theory.

Underlying the protection of human rights in Europe is a complex network of overlapping legal systems - domestic, EU, and ECHR. This book focuses on the potential for conflict to emerge between the systems where rights overlap and interpretations in different courts begin to diverge.
From the perspective of EU law, where the interpretation of rights differs national courts are asked to renounce the constitutional scope of protection, and the interpretations of the European Court of Human Rights, in favor of the scope defined by the European Court of Justice. From the perspective of the ECHR, the European Court of Human Rights is the ultimate authority on rights protection in Europe. This work presents a theory of supranational judicial authority to confront this problem, grounded in an ideal of judicial dialogue. It represents the first attempt to provide a thorough theoretical account of the value of judicial dialogue, and its potential for legitimating judicial decision-making at an international level.
Combining theoretical rigor with attention to the practicalities of European human rights law, the book will be accessible to a broad readership of legal theorists, EU lawyers and judges involved in building inter-judicial dialogue.

The provision of legal technical assistance has in recent years become a major concern for international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, and for Western-based bilateral donor agencies. This book offers critical perspectives for the evaluation of legal technical assistance projects and contains proposals for action and research. Five chapters offer general perspectives on law, state and civil society and the remaining six case studies on themes such as economic regulation, agrarian reform, representation of women and access to justice.