We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
The Twofold Logic of Constitutional Law
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2022
Constitutional law is a problem-solving activity. All problems in constitutional law, without exception, can be analyzed in terms of one or more questions, and all constitutional law questions, without exception, fall into one of two distinct categories: Does the Constitution authorize this governmental action? and does the Constitution prohibit this governmental action? This twofold logic of inquiry into authorization and prohibition guides the constitutional lawyer’s analysis of the problem in a constitutional controversy and provides the intellectual skeleton for constitutional law argument and decision. This chapter will first discuss how the logic of inquiry is used, and then will explain how the two questions are the product of the way the written Constitution is worded and of certain background presuppositions about its purposes.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
