CONSTITUTIONAL CULTURE IN TRANSITION: FROM AUTHORITY TO JUSTIFICATION

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João Andrade Neto

Abstract

After the end of World War II, successive waves of democratization swept over many European countries and their ex-colonies, spreading a new constitutional model worldwide. Constitutional comparatists have referred to this model as the new constitutionalism and highlighted a specific factor among those that make this arrangement new: there has been a significant change in the understanding of judges about the adjudicative function they exert. Constitucional courts around the world have affirmed, albeit often implicitly, that the validity of any act committed on behalf of the state depends on the reasons officers had for acting as such, whether or not they have explicitly advanced those reasons. Authors have referred to this particular understanding about what judicial review is and ought to be as the culture of justification. This essay is aimed at identifying and analysing the most relevant aspects of this emerging culture that replaced the culture of authority, which prevailed in Europe until the mid-twentieth century. Firstly, the study will introduce a conception of constitutional culture. Secondly, it will explain how and why the transition from the culture of authority to the culture of justification happened. Finally, it will expound the distinctive features of the culture  of  justification,  namely  rationalism,  proportionality,  a  wide  conception  of constitutional principles and fundamental rights, and a transnational judicial dialogue. The study will focus on the European context, especially on Germany, although examples from Canada, Israel, and South Africa are given. The objective is to provide a comprehensive review of the diverse opinions on the topic in the field of comparative constitutional law, for the specialized literature is still scarce in Portuguese. It falls beyond the scope of this essay to answer whether particular constitutional systems other than these mentioned in the text can be said to have abandoned the culture of authority. Future studies will address particularly the question of whether Brazil has assimilated the culture of justification.

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ANDRADE NETO, João. CONSTITUTIONAL CULTURE IN TRANSITION: FROM AUTHORITY TO JUSTIFICATION. Revista Brasileira de Teoria Constitucional, Florianopolis, Brasil, v. 1, n. 1, 2015. DOI: 10.26668/IndexLawJournals/2525-961X/2015.v1i1.140. Disponível em: https://indexlaw.org/index.php/teoriaconstitucional/article/view/140. Acesso em: 22 dec. 2024.
Section
Artigos
Author Biography

João Andrade Neto, Tribunal Regional Eleitoral de Minas Gerais, Brasil

Doutor em Direito pela Universität Hamburg - UHH, Hamburgo, Alemanha

Mestre em Direito pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Analista Judiciário no Gabinete V da Assessoria Jurídica dos Juízes-Membros do Tribunal Regional Eleitoral de Minas Gerais, Brasil

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