The Law between Objectivity and Power:

Philip M. Bender

doi:10.5771/9783748927211

Summary

The volume examines law in the tension field between objectivity and power: is law an instrument of the powerful or – on the contrary – an objective reality that limits power? The book deals with this question through an international, interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary approach. In doing so, it does not only take a theoretical perspective. Instead, it integrates insights from practical, doctrinal contributions as well. In that way, the book follows the idea of Constitutional Pragmatism, sketched out in its introductory chapter: each position in the epistemological dispute about the possibilities and limits of objectivity within the law entails normative implications; thus, the constitutional and doctrinal statements that normally settle normative disputes have to be taken into account when talking about epistemological issues as well.

Keywords

Search publication

Bibliographic data

Copyright Year: 2022
ISBN-Print: 978-3-8487-8334-2
ISBN-Online: 978-3-7489-2721-1
Publisher: Nomos, Baden-Baden
Language: English
Pages: 477
Product Type: Edited Book

Titelei/InhaltsverzeichnisPages 1 - 16 Download chapter (PDF)
1. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Introduction
    Authors:
  2. Authors:
    1. Authors:
      1. a. The irrelevance of positivism
        Authors:
      2. Authors:
        aa. Observational mode of thought
        Authors:
        bb. Deontological mode of thought
        Authors:
        cc. Consequentialist mode of thought
        Authors:
      3. Authors:
        aa. Decisionist mode of thought
        Authors:
        bb. Procedural mode of thought
        Authors:
        cc. Critical mode of thought
        Authors:
      4. Authors:
        aa. Objectivist approaches to contract law
        Authors:
        bb. Subjectivist approaches to contract law
        Authors:
        cc. The objectivist dimension of private autonomy in heteronomous lawmaking
        Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. a. Subjectivity and objectivity in interpretation
        Authors:
      2. Authors:
        aa. Productional subjectivity and applicational objectivity (‘Subjectivists’)
        Authors:
        bb. Productional objectivity and applicational objectivity (‘Objectivists’)
        Authors:
        cc. Productional subjectivity and applicational subjectivity (‘full nihilists’)
        Authors:
        dd. Productional objectivity and applicational subjectivity (‘partial nihilists’)
        Authors:
      3. c. Parallels in private lawmaking
        Authors:
  3. Authors:
    1. Authors:
      1. a. The meaning of legitimacy and its connection to objectivity
        Authors:
      2. b. The criterion of legitimacy and its connection to objectivity
        Authors:
      3. Authors:
        aa. Field-specificity and empirical legitimacy
        Authors:
        bb. Field-specificity and normative legitimacy
        Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. Authors:
        aa. Three core aspects of philosophical Pragmatism
        Authors:
        bb. The different perspective of pragmatic adjudication
        Authors:
      2. Authors:
        aa. Pragmatism and the constitution intertwined
        Authors:
        Authors:
        (1) Epistemological statements on the productional level
        Authors:
        (2) Epistemological statements on the applicational level
        Authors:
  4. Authors:
    1. 1. Structuralism
      Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. a. Distinctness
        Authors:
      2. b. Unconsciousness and necessity
        Authors:
      3. Authors:
        aa. Form and substance: bundle-structures I
        Authors:
        bb. Substance and substance: bundle-structures II
        Authors:
        cc. Thought-structures
        Authors:
        dd. Reception-structures
        Authors:
    3. 3. Parallels in private lawmaking
      Authors:
    4. 4. Why to think about structural objectivity
      Authors:
  5. V. Conclusion
    Authors:
1. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Introduction
    Authors:
  2. Authors:
    1. 1. Distinguishing reference points of subjectivism, objectivism, and intuitionism
      Authors:
    2. 2. The postulate of methodical accuracy – avoiding ‘pseudo-subjectivism’
      Authors:
  3. III. Subjectivism vs Objectivism in Private Law: Referring Legal Solutions to the Parties’ Intentions
    Authors:
  4. Authors:
    1. 1. General perspective: dependence of the legislator’s intention on fairness and reason
      Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. a. The personal soft spot
        Authors:
      2. b. The lingual soft spot
        Authors:
      3. c. The dynamic dimension soft spot
        Authors:
    3. 3. Impossibility of complete legislative pre-determination by ‘authoritative’ legal sources
      Authors:
    4. 4. The legitimacy of correcting the legislator’s intention on the application/court level
      Authors:
  5. Authors:
    1. 1. Tendency to overstate the uncertainty issue
      Authors:
    2. 2. Intersubjective reliability as ‘first degree objectivity’ of legal reasoning
      Authors:
    3. 3. Framing intuition as ‘second degree objectivity’ of legal reasoning
      Authors:
2. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. Authors:
    1. 1. Historical arguments
      Authors:
    2. 2. Dynamic interpretation
      Authors:
    3. 3. Objectivity
      Authors:
  2. Authors:
    1. 1. The problem of objectivity
      Authors:
    2. 2. The practical problem: the availability of historical evidence
      Authors:
    3. 3. Theoretical problems: will and form
      Authors:
    4. 4. Objectivity attenuated
      Authors:
  3. III. Dynamic Interpretation and Objectivity
    Authors:
  4. Authors:
    1. 1. The impermissibility of ‘direct’ historical argumentation
      Authors:
    2. 2. Meaning and purpose: two types of legislative intent
      Authors:
    3. Authors:
      1. a. Multiple purposes and the presumption in favour of meaning
        Authors:
      2. b. Interconnected purposes and the presumption in favour of the lower level
        Authors:
    4. Authors:
      1. a. Specific purposes
        Authors:
      2. b. Supplementary purposes
        Authors:
      3. c. Dynamic interpretation beyond historical arguments
        Authors:
  5. V. Conclusion
    Authors:
1. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. Authors:
    1. 1. Historical overview
      Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. a. General observations
        Authors:
      2. b. The judiciary between rule of law and democracy
        Authors:
  2. Authors:
    1. 1. General remarks
      Authors:
    2. 2. The Bundesverfassungsgericht and Power
      Authors:
  3. Authors:
    1. 1. Dogmatics as a tool to reduce judicial power
      Authors:
    2. 2. Constitutional adjudication, special techniques, and case law
      Authors:
  4. IV. The Bundesverfassungsgericht as a Constitutional Organ
    Authors:
2. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. Authors:
    1. 1. Preliminary no 1: why we should care
      Authors:
    2. 2. Preliminary no 2: some assumptions
      Authors:
    3. 3. Preliminary no 3: a brief summary of today’s originalism
      Authors:
  2. II. Conceptual Clarifications: Theories of Law, Theories of Interpretation, and Theories of Adjudication
    Authors:
  3. Authors:
    1. 1. Legal positivism
      Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. a. The core of the theory: decision-making (only) according to rules
        Authors:
      2. b. The three key claims of formalism
        Authors:
    3. 3. The case against the compatibility of legal positivism with formalism
      Authors:
    4. 4. Conclusion
      Authors:
  4. Authors:
    1. 1. Theories of constitutional law: what does American constitutional law consist of?
      Authors:
    2. 2. Theories of legal interpretation: how to determine the content of American constitutional law?
      Authors:
    3. 3. Theories of adjudication: how must courts resolve constitutional disputes?
      Authors:
  5. V. Conclusion
    Authors:
1. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Introduction
    Authors:
  2. II. Remedies, Discretion, and System-building: Some Classifications
    Authors:
  3. Authors:
    1. Authors:
      1. a. Remedial discretion in equitable remedies
        Authors:
      2. b. Statutory discretion
        Authors:
      3. c. Remedial constructive trusts and ‘discretionary remedialism’
        Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. a. No theory of remedial discretion in private law (yet)
        Authors:
      2. b. Contract concretisation and adaptation
        Authors:
      3. c. Good faith
        Authors:
      4. d. The quantification of damages
        Authors:
    3. 3. Comparison
      Authors:
  4. Authors:
    1. 1. The uneasy case for remedial discretion
      Authors:
    2. 2. Unfettered power? Remedial discretion and the rule of law
      Authors:
  5. V. Conclusion
    Authors:
2. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Judicial Development of the Law as a Constitutional Problem – General Aspects
    Authors:
  2. Authors:
    1. 1. Development of the requirement of a statutory provision (Vorbehalt des Gesetzes)
      Authors:
    2. 2. Constitutional basis of the requirement of a statutory provision as developed under the Federal Constitutional Court’s essential-matters doctrine
      Authors:
    3. 3. Characteristics of the Federal Constitutional Court’s essential-matters doctrine
      Authors:
    4. 4. Institutional extension of the essential-matters doctrine – application to the judiciary
      Authors:
  3. Authors:
    1. Authors:
      1. a. Differentiation based on the parties to the dispute
        Authors:
      2. b. Change of position? – Application to constellations opposing private individuals
        Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. a. Judges duty to adjudicate in civil disputes
        Authors:
      2. b. The conciliatory character of private law
        Authors:
    3. Authors:
      1. a. Different functions of private law
        Authors:
      2. Authors:
        aa. Regulation and fundamental rights
        Authors:
        bb. Regulation and democratic legitimacy – who defines the common good?
        Authors:
      3. c. The functions of balancing interests and of providing infrastructure
        Authors:
  4. IV. Conclusion
    Authors:
3. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Introduction: Private International Law, Objectivity, and Power
    Authors:
  2. Authors:
    1. 1. European private international law
      Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. a. Federal law
        Authors:
      2. b. State law
        Authors:
  3. Authors:
    1. 1. Public policy exception
      Authors:
    2. 2. Overriding mandatory provisions
      Authors:
  4. Authors:
    1. 1. Federal law
      Authors:
    2. 2. State law: Draft Restatement (Third) of Conflict of Laws
      Authors:
  5. V. Conclusion: Comparative Remarks
    Authors:
1. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Introduction
    Authors:
  2. Authors:
    1. 1. Sources of lack of objectivity
      Authors:
    2. 2. Is algorithmic lack of objectivity superior to human lack of objectivity?
      Authors:
  3. Authors:
    1. 1. Concealing controversy
      Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. a. Man-made definitions of risk
        Authors:
      2. b. Uneven distribution of risks
        Authors:
      3. c. Tolerated risks
        Authors:
  4. Authors:
    1. 1. Away from the public eye – undemocratic decision-making
      Authors:
    2. 2. Away from law enforcement officials – de-skilling
      Authors:
    3. 3. Away from the courts – limited legal scrutiny due to complexity
      Authors:
    4. 4. From tool to authority figure – algorithmic thoughtlessness
      Authors:
    5. 5. From the logic of the law to the logic of algorithms – ‘machine logic’
      Authors:
  5. V. Conclusion
    Authors:
2. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Introduction to the Concept of Innocence
    Authors:
  2. II. An Epistemological Presumption
    Authors:
  3. III. An Axiological Principle
    Authors:
  4. IV. A Protected Status
    Authors:
  5. V. Conclusion
    Authors:
1. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Introduction
    Authors:
  2. II. Arbitration as a Spontaneous Order
    Authors:
  3. Authors:
    1. 1. Disappointing experience: the elimination of the recourse of annulment in Belgium in 1985
      Authors:
    2. 2. Successful experience: the recognition of the non-signatory theories in the Peruvian Law of Arbitration in 2014
      Authors:
  4. Authors:
    1. 1. The spontaneous evolution of the concept of consent
      Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. a. The original criterion of arbitrability: economic nature or similar concepts
        Authors:
      2. b. The expansion of arbitrability: broad interpretation of the general criterion
        Authors:
      3. c. Concrete examples of extended arbitrability
        Authors:
      4. d. Towards universal arbitrability
        Authors:
  5. V. Conclusion
    Authors:
2. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Introduction
    Authors:
  2. Authors:
    1. 1. The localist approach
      Authors:
    2. 2. The pluralist approach
      Authors:
    3. 3. The autonomous order approach
      Authors:
  3. III. The World Order Approach
    Authors:
  4. Authors:
    1. 1. Projects and systems (Kahn)
      Authors:
    2. 2. Dédoublement fonctionnel (Scelle)
      Authors:
    3. 3. Transnational legal process (Jessup and Koh)
      Authors:
  5. V. Conclusion
    Authors:
1. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Introduction
    Authors:
  2. II. Positive vs. Normative Economic Analysis of Law
    Authors:
  3. III. Economic Analysis and the Legislative Process
    Authors:
  4. Authors:
    1. Authors:
      1. Authors:
        aa. Positive Economic Analysis
        Authors:
        bb. Normative Economic Analysis
        Authors:
      2. Authors:
        aa. Positive Economic Analysis
        Authors:
        Authors:
        (1) Existing interpretation of the statutory rule in case law and legal scholarship
        Authors:
        (2) Non-existent interpretation of the statutory rule in case law and legal scholarship
        Authors:
        (3) Absence of legal principles
        Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. Authors:
        aa. General features of legal principles
        Authors:
        bb. Two ways of establishing legal principles: inference through induction and traceability to the idea of law
        Authors:
      2. Authors:
        Authors:
        (1) Positive law
        Authors:
        (2) Legal precedent
        Authors:
        bb. Traceability to the idea of law
        Authors:
      3. c. Efficiency as the normative basis of an enhancement of the law
        Authors:
  5. V. Conclusion
    Authors:
2. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Introduction
    Authors:
  2. II. The Oresteia: Law as the Institutionalization of Power
    Authors:
  3. III. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Law as the Language of Power
    Authors:
  4. IV. The Trial: Law as the Instrument of Power
    Authors:
  5. V. Conclusion
    Authors:
1. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Introduction
    Authors:
  2. Authors:
    1. 1. Three judgments, two and a half opinions, one issue
      Authors:
    2. 2. Core question: burden of proof
      Authors:
  3. Authors:
    1. 1. Metaphorical feedback-effect
      Authors:
    2. 2. Some empirical evidence
      Authors:
  4. Authors:
    1. Authors:
      1. a. The corporation is a different person
        Authors:
      2. b. The inner structure stays hidden
        Authors:
    2. Authors:
      1. a. The corporation is a network
        Authors:
      2. b. The inner structure is revealed
        Authors:
  5. Authors:
    1. 1. Come to stay
      Authors:
    2. 2. Metaphors matter
      Authors:
2. Authors:
  Download chapter (PDF)
  1. I. Introduction
    Authors:
  2. Authors:
    1. 1. Historical foundations
      Authors:
    2. 2. Social and legal scholarship
      Authors:
    3. Authors:
      1. a. Non-exclusiveness
        Authors:
      2. b. Not enough
        Authors:
  3. Authors:
    1. 1. Historical foundations
      Authors:
    2. 2. Social and legal scholarship
      Authors:
    3. 3. Mapping citizenship law as an instrument of power
      Authors:
    4. Authors:
      1. a. Reclaiming citizenship
        Authors:
      2. b. Instrumental turn of citizenship
        Authors:
  4. Authors:
    1. 1. Indigenous peoples
      Authors:
    2. 2. Territorians
      Authors:
  5. V. Conclusion
    Authors: