•  38
    Even though he is mainly known for his concept of constituent power, Sieyès was one of the first constitutional theorists to ask for a guardian of the constitution which closely resembles contemporary constitutional courts. This article reconstructs the main tenets of his proposal, puts them in the larger context of his constitutional theory and then assesses the constitutional nature and functions of this institution. The judgment is mixed: as an organ, Sieyès’ constitutional jury is a hybrid i…Read more
  •  31
    Montesquieu and the French Model of Separation of Powers
    Jurisprudence 4 (1): 20-47. 2013.
    Constitutional scholarship has put much emphasis on Montesquieu's principle of separation of powers as developed in the chapter of 'The Spirit of the Laws' devoted to the English constitution (XI, 6). It has also been quite common to mix up this model of separation of powers with elements taken from other sections of Montesquieu's masterpiece. The starting point of this paper is that there is an alternative, second model of separation powers based on the French monarchy of intermediate powers, w…Read more
  •  27
    The debate on political constitutionalism has entirely neglected the constitution-making dimension. This is probably due to the fact that constitution-making usually brings with it undesirable outcomes such as the entrenchment of rights or structures. These outcomes do not respect reasonable disagreement among citizens because they violate the only fair system for settling disagreement: majority rule and equal voting rights. This article argues that political constitutionalists may regret the ab…Read more
  •  22
    A Normative Positivism for the Deliberative Republic (review)
    Jurisprudence 2 (1): 249-260. 2011.
  •  20
    Hannah Arendt and the law (edited book)
    with Christopher McCorkindale
    Hart Pub.2. 2012.
    This book fills a major gap in the ever-increasing secondary literature on Hannah Arendt's political thought by providing a dedicated and coherent treatment of the many, various and interesting things which Arendt had to say about law. Often obscured by more pressing or more controversial aspects of her work, Arendt nonetheless had interesting insights into Greek and Roman concepts of law, human rights, constitutional design, legislation, sovereignty, international tribunals, judicial review and…Read more
  •  12
    Introduction: Chile’s ‘Constituent Moment’
    with Emilios Christodoulidis
    Law and Critique 31 (1): 1-5. 2020.
    The introduction looks at the constitutional situation in Chile since the demand for a new Constitution erupted in demonstrations all across the country, and argues that the notion of ‘constitutional moment’ is inadequate to capture the radicality of the popular mobilisation that is sweeping the country as a pure expression of constituent power.
  •  10
    Research handbook on critical legal theory (edited book)
    with Emilios Christodoulidis and Ruth Dukes
    Edward Elgar Publishing. 2019.
    Critical theory encapsulates the many connections between theory and praxis. This Research Handbook addresses the broad range of these connections in relation to legal thought. Featuring contributions from leading scholars of law and critical theory, the Handbook confronts the logic of the institutional with its specific challenges right across the broad field of legal thought. The Research Handbook initially addresses the question of definition, tracking the origins and development of critical …Read more
  •  9
    Constitutional Fragments, written by Gunther Teubner
    Journal of Moral Philosophy 13 (2): 253-256. 2016.
  •  9
    When the German constitutional court expressed itself in the Lisbon ruling, on the 30th of June 2009, the famous German newspaper Der Bild published the corrosive headline “the end of federalism”. The aim of this paper is to present and discuss the arguments of the Court concerning the nature of the EU as a confederation, the illegitimacy of further development towards a federal state and the determination of the EU’s ‘core competences’, in order to shed light on why, within the EU, the relation…Read more
  •  7
    Montesquieu and the French separation of powers
    Jurisprudencija: Mokslo darbu žurnalas 2. 2012.
  •  5
    The Cambridge handbook on the material constitution (edited book)
    with Michael A. Wilkinson
    Cambridge University Press. 2022.
    Despite a long and venerable tradition, the material constitution almost disappeared from constitutional scholarship after the Second World War. Its marginalisation saw the rise of a normative and legalistic style in constitutional law that neglected the role of social reality and political economy. This collection not only retrieves the history and development of the concept of the material constitution, but it tests its theoretical and practical relevance in the contemporary world. With essays…Read more
  •  2
    The Legal Order
    with Mariano Croce
    Routledge. 2017.
    First published in 1917 and 1918, with a second edition in 1946, this is the first English translation of Santi Romano's classic work, L'ordinamento giuridico. The main focus of The Legal Order is the notion of institution, which Romano considers to be both the core and distinguishing feature of law. After criticising accounts of the nature of law centred on notions of rule, coercion or authority, he offers a compelling conception, not merely of law as an institution, but of the institution as '…Read more
  •  1
    The politics of global legal pluralism
    Jura Gentium 11 (S1): 104-123. 2014.
  •  1
    PATRICIA MINDUS, A Real Mind. The Life and Work of Axel Hägerström.
    Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie 97 (4): 581-583. 2011.
  • Marxism and the political economy of law
    with Emilios Christodoulidis
    In Emilios A. Christodoulidis, Ruth Dukes & Marco Goldoni (eds.), Research handbook on critical legal theory, Edward Elgar Publishing. 2019.
  • The Materiality of the Legal Order
    Cambridge University Press. 2022.
    This Element aims to explore how the relation between societal organisation and legal orders – the question of materiality – has been investigated in philosophy of law. The starting point of the Element is that such relation has often been left invisible or thematised in poor and reductive terms. After having explained the main reasons behind this neglect, the Element provides an overview of the three main approaches to legal philosophy whose contributions, though not always effective, can still…Read more
  • Politiche del codice. Architettura e diritto nella teoria di Lessig
    Bollettino Telematico di Filosofia Politica. forthcoming.
    L’analisi degli aspetti più innovativi del pensiero di Lawrence Lessig, e in particolare la messa in luce del rapporto fra diritto ed architettura nello spazio digitale, mostra la necessità per le società contemporanee di dotarsi di una “politica” del codice
  • Nomos e narrazione
    with Robert Cover
    Bollettino Telematico di Filosofia Politica. forthcoming.
    A partire dal commento ad una sentenza sul problema della discriminazione razziale in una scuola privata, Cover presenta una teoria del pluralismo normativo fondata sulla distinzione fra autorità e significato. A tale dicotomia è dovuta la “proliferazione” dei mondi normativi e delle interpretazioni costituzionali. L’autore descrive i processi di formazione dei significati giuridici – la cosiddetta “giusgenesi” – ed offre una teoria della giurisdizione adatta ad un universo giuridico connotato d…Read more
  • Lo scettro senza il re (review)
    Bollettino Telematico di Filosofia Politica. forthcoming.