This work brings together historians and philosophers to explore legal interpretation in the 18th century, highlighting the contrast between Enlightenment ideology and the reality of diverse legal sources. It examines the necessity of interpretation to unify norms in law and the role of reason in this process.
In his Kobe Lecture, Cass Sunstein reflects upon his judicial minimalism, a doctrine asserting that the proper role of the judiciary is to go "narrow and shallow," collectively making minimal changes to its jurisprudence. He goes "beyond judicial minimalism" by reflecting on the goal and conditions that make the minimalist strategy reasonable, culminating in the conclusion that there are situations when a different strategy is more efficient. Ten commentators carefully examine Sunstein's legal theory, especially his arguments for and against judicial minimalism. Sunstein himself replies to the comments by appealing to the notion of fallibility. This book attempts to evaluate the pros and cons of judicial minimalism as an important strategy for legal interpretation.
Inhalt: Morigiwa Yasutomo: Values, Systems, and Jurisprudence in Asia Kim Chang-rok: Where is the Korean Legal System Going? – Comments: Choi Chongko Guo Daohui: The Democratization of Law: Rights in Contemporary Chinese Daniel A. Bell: A Confucian Democracy for the Twenty-First Century – Comments: Nobuyuki Yasuda Inoue Tatsuo: Liberal Democracy and „Asian Values“ – Comments: Yang Seungdoo Mizoguchi Yuzo: Confucian Ethics (li-jiao) and Revolutionary China – Comments: Terada Hiroaki Adijaya Yusuf: Integrating the Country through Legal Reform: The Indonesian Experience – Comments: Timothy C. Lindsey
Contents: Y. Morigiwa: Preface F. Ishiyama: Introduction W. Kymlicka: Universal Minority Rights? The Prospects for Consensus Commentaries: M. Fukada: Comments and Questions to Professor W. Kymlicka F. Ishiyama: A ‘Distinctively Liberal’ Theory of Minority Rights? T. Katsuragi: Comments on Kymlicka’s Multicultural Citizenship R. Hirai: When Kymlicka Takes on Asia Y. Inada: A Kind of Strategic Essentialism? A Commentary on Kymlicka S. Morimura: In Defense of Liberal Imperialism I. Ozaki: Who Saves Whom? A Short Comment on Multicultural Citizenship K. Hasegawa: Comments on Will Kymlicka’s Thinking about the Rights of Indigenous People Y. Mouri: Towards a Liberal Extension of Multiculturalism: Focusing Attention on the Present Conditions of the Korean Minority in Japan W. Kymlicka: Replies to Commentaries