The Mechanism of Constitutional Lawmaking at the United States of America as an Expression of Law Convergence

In the article the author analyzes the specificity of the constitutional lawmaking mechanism in the United States in the context of the combination of various lawmaking forms, including those that typical for different legal traditions. The uniqueness of the American legal system is that it combines...

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Main Author: Ekaterina A Petrova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) 2017-12-01
Series:RUDN Journal of Law
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.rudn.ru/law/article/view/16087
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author Ekaterina A Petrova
author_facet Ekaterina A Petrova
author_sort Ekaterina A Petrova
collection DOAJ
description In the article the author analyzes the specificity of the constitutional lawmaking mechanism in the United States in the context of the combination of various lawmaking forms, including those that typical for different legal traditions. The uniqueness of the American legal system is that it combines the features of both common and continental law and so it has integrate nature. The author interprets constitutional lawmaking as the activity of competent lawmaking authorities on creation a constitution as the act of a special kind. The mechanism of constitutional lawmaking covers a system of interrelated elements (the static aspect) and successive stages (the dynamic aspect), providing the establishment and objectification of the constitutional norms in the form of an appropriate constitutional act. Converging nature of the American constitutional lawmaking mechanism has two aspects. The first aspect is connected with the specifics of adoption of the US Constitution. Initially in the mechanism of constitutional lawmaking the instrumentation of a treaty lawmaking has been involved. However the result of it was not an international treaty in the traditional sense, but a normative legal act with the supreme legal force. The second aspect represents a further development of the constitutional provisions through Constitution amendments (which is typical for continental constitutional tradition) and through the judicial constitutional lawmaking which is peculiar for common law tradition. The judicial constitutional lawmaking is carried out through the constitutional doctrines of the U.S. Supreme Court by which the constitutional norms are adopted without formal changes to the varying social conditions. It is concluded that the mechanism of constitutional lawmaking in the United States according to the integration nature of the American legal system expresses the law convergence because it combines three forms of lawmaking technique (contractual, legislative and case-law) and so far provides the best legal result.
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spelling doaj.art-ba65a4f2e6ee49e7b929e169ccbe28e12022-12-22T01:43:47ZengPeoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)RUDN Journal of Law2313-23372408-90012017-12-01211285210.22363/2313-2337-2017-21-1-28-5215184The Mechanism of Constitutional Lawmaking at the United States of America as an Expression of Law ConvergenceEkaterina A Petrova0<p>Ивановский государственный университет</p>In the article the author analyzes the specificity of the constitutional lawmaking mechanism in the United States in the context of the combination of various lawmaking forms, including those that typical for different legal traditions. The uniqueness of the American legal system is that it combines the features of both common and continental law and so it has integrate nature. The author interprets constitutional lawmaking as the activity of competent lawmaking authorities on creation a constitution as the act of a special kind. The mechanism of constitutional lawmaking covers a system of interrelated elements (the static aspect) and successive stages (the dynamic aspect), providing the establishment and objectification of the constitutional norms in the form of an appropriate constitutional act. Converging nature of the American constitutional lawmaking mechanism has two aspects. The first aspect is connected with the specifics of adoption of the US Constitution. Initially in the mechanism of constitutional lawmaking the instrumentation of a treaty lawmaking has been involved. However the result of it was not an international treaty in the traditional sense, but a normative legal act with the supreme legal force. The second aspect represents a further development of the constitutional provisions through Constitution amendments (which is typical for continental constitutional tradition) and through the judicial constitutional lawmaking which is peculiar for common law tradition. The judicial constitutional lawmaking is carried out through the constitutional doctrines of the U.S. Supreme Court by which the constitutional norms are adopted without formal changes to the varying social conditions. It is concluded that the mechanism of constitutional lawmaking in the United States according to the integration nature of the American legal system expresses the law convergence because it combines three forms of lawmaking technique (contractual, legislative and case-law) and so far provides the best legal result.http://journals.rudn.ru/law/article/view/16087конвергенцияправотворчествоКонституция СШАправовая система СШАВерховный суд СШАконституционные доктриныпрецедентное право
spellingShingle Ekaterina A Petrova
The Mechanism of Constitutional Lawmaking at the United States of America as an Expression of Law Convergence
RUDN Journal of Law
конвергенция
правотворчество
Конституция США
правовая система США
Верховный суд США
конституционные доктрины
прецедентное право
title The Mechanism of Constitutional Lawmaking at the United States of America as an Expression of Law Convergence
title_full The Mechanism of Constitutional Lawmaking at the United States of America as an Expression of Law Convergence
title_fullStr The Mechanism of Constitutional Lawmaking at the United States of America as an Expression of Law Convergence
title_full_unstemmed The Mechanism of Constitutional Lawmaking at the United States of America as an Expression of Law Convergence
title_short The Mechanism of Constitutional Lawmaking at the United States of America as an Expression of Law Convergence
title_sort mechanism of constitutional lawmaking at the united states of america as an expression of law convergence
topic конвергенция
правотворчество
Конституция США
правовая система США
Верховный суд США
конституционные доктрины
прецедентное право
url http://journals.rudn.ru/law/article/view/16087
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AT ekaterinaapetrova mechanismofconstitutionallawmakingattheunitedstatesofamericaasanexpressionoflawconvergence