Part V Meanings/Textures, Ch.36 Constitutional Values and Principles

Values and principles are a familiar part of the landscape of constitutional adjudication, yet their jurisprudential status is a subject of considerable contestation, and their meaning and significance for courts vary markedly across national boundaries. Much of the controversy surrounding these terms relates to concerns over their potential abuse by judges in the interpretive process and the resulting impact this experience could have on the legitimacy of the judicial function. Another point of contention is entwined in a specifically terminological quandary;...