James Brown Scott, 1866–1943

1944 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
George A. Finch
Keyword(s):  
Practical Experience ◽  
International Community ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Soul ◽  
Harvard College ◽  
Good Fortune ◽  
The Law ◽  
Do So

Sensing that it might be an epilogue, as in fact it turned out to be, to his life’s work, Dr. Scott on April 1, 1939, wrote in the preface to the last of a long list of legal and scholarly volumes which bear his name as author or editor, as follows: “For nearly half a century, from the time of entering Harvard College until the present day, I have been deeply interested in the fundamental conceptions of law and of the state; and in later years it has been my good fortune to have had practical experience with the law of the state, and especially with the law of the international community.” Togive a brief account of any busy person’s life of fifty years would be difficult; to attempt to do so adequately for a man of Dr. Scott’s dynamic personality, vivid imagination, keen intellect, tireless energy, cultured mind, and human soul seems almost futile; for each of his active years one might write a separate article and not overdo the task.

Constitutional Rights and Social Welfare: Exploring Claims-Making Practices in Post-Apartheid South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-48
Author(s):  
Whitney K. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Neighborhood Context ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
The Law ◽  
Material Conditions ◽  
Do So ◽  
The Way

When do individuals choose to advance legal claims to social welfare goods? To explore this question, I turn to the case of South Africa, where, despite the adoption of a "transformative" constitution in 1996, access to social welfare goods remains sorely lacking. Drawing on an original 551-person survey, I examine patterns of legal claims-making, focusing on beliefs individuals hold about the law, rights, and the state, and how those beliefs relate to decisions about whether and how to make claims. I find striking differences between the factors that influence when people say they should file a legal claim and when they actually do so. The way that individuals interpret their own material conditions and neighborhood context are important, yet under-acknowledged, factors for explaining claims-making.

Mechanical Restraint

1896 ◽  
Vol 42 (176) ◽  
pp. 131-131
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Mechanical Restraint ◽  
The Law ◽  
Do So

The evils of wrong-doing are great and far-reaching, and not the least of these evils are the effects of the regulations which wrong-doing calls forth, and which are intended to prevent similar wrong-doing in future. In any case it is difficult to forecast the effect of legislation. It is never certain that legislation will prevent the evil that it is designed to prevent; but we may be confident that, whether it do so or not, it will produce other evils which were neither intended nor anticipated by its authors. The law which forbad the combination of workmen, for example, did not prevent their combination, and was indirectly responsible for many trade outrages. The law which forbids the sale of intoxicating liquors in the state of Maine similarly does not prevent their sale, but indirectly produces much lying and dishonesty.

Why the “Haves” Come Out Ahead: Speculations on the Limits of Legal Change

2021 ◽  
pp. 297-302
Author(s):  
Marc Galanter
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
The State ◽  
Legal Change ◽  
System P ◽  
The Law ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Do So ◽  
The Way

This article proposes some conjectures about the way in which the basic architecture of the legal system creates and limits the possibilities of using the system as a means of redistributive change. Specifically, the question is under what conditions litigation can be redistributive, taking litigation in the broadest sense of the presentation of claims to be decided by courts. Because of differences in their size, differences in the state of the law, and differences in their resources, some of the actors in society have many occasions to utilize the courts; others do so only rarely. One can divide these actors into those claimants who have only occasional recourse to the courts (one-shotters) and repeat players who are engaged in many similar litigations over time. The article then looks at alternatives to the official litigation system.

scholarly journals Action in Law’s Empire: Judging in the Deliberative Mode

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-456
Author(s):  
Veronica Rodriguez-Blanco
Keyword(s):  
Classical Tradition ◽  
Practical Reason ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
The State ◽  
Legal Cases ◽  
The Law ◽  
Do So

Dworkin advances the view that judges decide legal cases according to constructive interpretation. The aim of constructive interpretation is to justify the coercion of the State. A trivial implication of this view is that officials and citizens will comply with the law because of the justification that has been advanced by judges in their exercise of constructive interpretation. Consequently, neither officials nor citizens comply with the law because they have been coerced or because they have been simply told to do so. But then, it seems that constructive interpretation cannot really provide any guidance since officials and citizens have been asked to accept the interpretation of the law that has been put forward by the judges since arguably, it is the best possible interpretation of what the law is in this particular case. However, why they ought to do so?I will argue that the mistake of the theory of constructive interpretation lies in a misleading and implausible conception of action that believes that action is raw behavioural data and that therefore we need to ‘impose meaning’, ‘value’ or ‘purpose’ on them. I will defend a more plausible conception of action along the classical tradition that understands practice as originating in agency and deliberation. The outcome is that constructive interpretation and its conception of ‘imposing meaning’ on practice is a theoretical perspective that neglects and misunderstands action and practical reason.

scholarly journals Proceeding the prosecutor’s waiver: between law and reality

2021 ◽  
pp. 6-11
Author(s):  
Tatiana Vizdoaga ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Driving Force ◽  
The State ◽  
Criminal Trial ◽  
Criminal Case ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
The Law ◽  
Core Issues ◽  
Trial Phase ◽  
Do So

The prosecution is the driving force behind the criminal proceedings. By presenting the prosecution with all his energy, insistence and competence, the prosecutor is obliged to do so only to the extent that the guilt is proven, taking into account the evidence supporting the defendant’s position. The prosecutor himself is obliged to strictly observe the law, to oppose any abuses and violations, regardless of the party whose interests are harmed. For the prosecutor, supporting the accusation is not an end in itself; or, the well-founded waiver of the accusation, as well as the support of the accusation, equally contribute to the achievement of the purpose of the criminal trial. This study discusses certain core issues related to the waiver of the state accuser to charge the trial phase of the criminal case.

State Responsibility for COVID-19: Does International Contagion Constitute Transboundary Harm?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Sophie CAPICCHIANO YOUNG
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
International Community ◽  
The State ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
State Responsibility ◽  
Current Article ◽  
International Responsibility ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Do So

Abstract As the damage caused by COVID-19 has increased exponentially, so too has the insistence that China bears some international responsibility for the unquantifiable damage sustained as a direct result of the state having failed to contain the virus, and to notify the international community of its existence. Some have suggested that the international contagion of the virus may be classified as transboundary harm. The current article analyses the law of transboundary harm, and proposes a set of criteria based on treaty and precedent that may be relied on to properly classify an event as such. It concludes that it is not only incorrect to classify international contagion as transboundary harm, but that to do so would pose a significant risk to the position and treatment of the individual in international law.

scholarly journals The role of the public council in local government

2020 ◽  
pp. 229-234
Author(s):  
G. O. Spabekov
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
The State ◽  
Modern World ◽  
The Public ◽  
State Apparatus ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Moment

In the modern world, public councils (councils) exist in almost every legal state. They are created in various forms and spheres of public life to achieve the political goals of the state. In general, councils widely exercise their powers in monitoring the activities of state bodies, public control, developing regulatory documents, and expressing the opinion of the population. In implementing the concept of a “hearing state”, councils effectively respond to constructive requests from citizens and are the most important link between the state and society, since problems in the state apparatus are caused by the lack of feedback from the population between local government and citizens. The article highlights the realities from the moment of adoption of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On public councils” to the present day, indicating the presence of a number of problems that bureaucratize and devalue the ideological basis. At the same time, practice shows real results that have a positive impact on building a dialogue and mandatory regulatory procedures that have no impact on society. The problems that have accumulated today, such as duplication of functions, lack of motivation, imperfect legislation, and others, require certain measures to be taken. This was preceded by the lack of practical experience of Kazakhstan at the time of adoption of the law, insufficient analysis of foreign practice and gaps in legislation. Solving these and other problems, as well as building the work of councils on a new principle, promotes openness and responsibility of the state to the population.

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