SOC042 Constitutional Adjudication – Morphology, Genealogy and Legitimacy

Právnická fakulta
jaro 2025
Rozsah
2/0/0. 6 kr. Ukončení: zk.
Vyučováno kontaktně
Vyučující
prof. JUDr. David Kosař, Ph.D., LL.M., J. S. D. (přednášející)
JUDr. Zuzana Vikarská, MJur, MPhil, Ph.D. (přednášející)
JUDr. Ladislav Vyhnánek, Ph.D., LL.M. (přednášející)
doc. JUDr. PhDr. Robert Zbíral, Ph.D. (přednášející)
Garance
JUDr. Ladislav Vyhnánek, Ph.D., LL.M.
Právnická fakulta
Dodavatelské pracoviště: Právnická fakulta
Předpoklady
Prerequisite: An introductory course in constitutional law in student’s home country (can be waived under exceptional circumstances). Recommended: Acquaintance with the basic constitutional history and architecture of one or more countries other than the student's home country is recommended, as are keen interest in comparative constitutionalism. Throughout the course, we will occasionally touch upon essentials of constitutional theory. No prior background in this area is required.
Omezení zápisu do předmětu
Předmět je určen pouze studentům mateřských oborů.
Mateřské obory/plány
Cíle předmětu
Constitutional democracy is nowadays the dominant form of representative government in the world. Of this regime there is no comprehensive political theory. Next to political branches, elected and accountable to the voters through competitive elections, this form of government encompasses judicial organs exercising normative power through constitutional adjudication. This aspect of the judicial review will be analyzed considering the functions of Constitutional/Supreme courts in the world (focusing mainly on the countries that have, outside the US, the longest experience). Using an ideal typical taxonomy based on mechanisms of referral we will distinguish different effects of Courts’ decisions on the working of the political and constitutional system. Some attention will be devoted at the historical origin of constitutional adjudication. Next to the main descriptive dimension of the seminar we will discuss the old question of the legitimacy of non-elected and non-accountable (to the voters) organs in democratic societies. The institution that we will spend the most time studying is the Constitutional Court, which was invented in Austria following World War I, as a part of the new Austrian constitutional government. It was then “reinvented” following the Second World War in Germany and Italy and has been copied widely. But there are also other traditions of constitutional adjudication which locate the power to conduct constitutional review in a Supreme Court (which has also other judicial functions) as is done in the United States and Canada. Indeed there are much older traditions of constitutional adjudication that can be traced far back in history.
Výstupy z učení
The student will:
- know and understand the differences between various models of constitutional adjudication:
- be able to write an analytical essay concerning comparative constitutional law (constitutional courts);
- understand and be able tu apply basic approaches of comparative constitutional law (such as functionalism);
- be able to analyze a position of a constitutional court within a given jurisdiction based on a analytical framework discussed in the course.
Osnova
  • Class 1: Introduction – typology of constitutional adjudication Class 2: Italy – the Constitutional Court as judge of applied law Class 3: Germany – constitutional complaints Class 4: France – from saisine parlementaire to QPC Class 5: United States – judicial review Class 6: Commonwealth model I. – Canada (“moderate judicial review”) Class 7: Commonwealth model II. – New Zealand, UK, Australia (“weak judicial review”) Class 8: South Africa – constitutional court in the one-party State Class 9: Israel – strong judicial review without a written constitution Classes 10-11: student presentations of outlines Class 12: Legitimacy of constitutional adjudication – summation and reflections
Literatura
    povinná literatura
  • Reading materials are available via the course IS.MUNI website (pdfs, cca. 240 mandatory pages per semester. Depending on student interest, a few additional materials, handouts, and court rulings may be distributed in class.
Výukové metody
lectures, reaction paper, final essay
Metody hodnocení
65% final essay; 10% reaction papers; 10% final paper outline & presentation; 15% class participation
Vyučovací jazyk
Angličtina
Informace učitele
Reading materials are available via the course IS.MUNI website. Depending on student interest, a few additional materials, handouts, and court rulings may be distributed in class.
Další komentáře
Předmět je vyučován každoročně.
Výuka probíhá každý týden.
Předmět je zařazen také v obdobích jaro 2014, jaro 2018, jaro 2019, jaro 2020, jaro 2021, jaro 2022, jaro 2024.