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25 - Contrariness and Contradiction in Constitutional Law

from Part IV - Emerging Trends

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2024

By
Zachary Elkins  and
Tom Ginsburg
Edited by
Ran Hirschl  and
Yaniv Roznai
Ran Hirschl
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Yaniv Roznai
Affiliation:
Reichman University, Israel
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Summary

In Constitutional Identity, Gary Jacobsohn highlights the tension both within constitutional systems and between constitutions and societal norms (culture). In this essay, we explore the first tension and glance at the second. One objective of the essay is to enumerate a set of “disharmonies” that appear with some frequency within constitutions and, employing historical data, identify the constitutional systems that contain them. Appealing to formal logic, we develop a taxonomy that helps us understand the kinds of disharmonies on display; a taxonomy that points to their sources. The essay thus generalizes Jacobsohn’s notion of disharmony and extends his insights from a small set of cases that begin with the letter “I” to a larger set.

Keywords

inconsistencyincoherencetensionparadoxdialetheismdialogicdialecticdisharmonydesignincompletenessambiguitylow-commitmentopposition
Type
Chapter
Information
Deciphering the Genome of Constitutionalism
The Foundations and Future of Constitutional Identity
 , pp. 330 - 344
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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References

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