Legal Constitutionalism In the Irish Constitutional Tradition

Tom Hickey, Dublin City University, is publishing Judges as God's Philosophers: Re-Thinking 'Principle' in Constitutional Adjudication in Judges, Politics and the Irish Constitution (L. Cahillane, J. Gallen and T. Hickey (eds.), Manchester University Press, 2016). Here is the abstract.

This chapter identifies and critiques two strands of 'legal constitutionalism' in the Irish constitutional tradition: a classical 'minimal state' strand and a contemporary Rawlsian/Dworkinian strand. It argues against both on the basis that, in different ways, they fail to account for the political and contestable nature of rights. The chapter argues for a model of constitutionalism that accounts for the principled contribution that judicial review can make to public deliberation and outcomes, but that similarly accounts for its potential weaknesses.

Download the chapter from SSRN at the link.