CEU Press books are now also available on Questia and Myilibrary.

CEU Press books are distributed also in digital version. See the top 20 e-sales from 2005 till June 2008.

Bestsellers on two tracks. Five titles figure both among traditional and digital top 20: A Cardboard Castle, A Biographical Dictionary of Women's Movements, Russian Foreign Policy, Ascensions on High, and Ideologies and National Identities.

"A sharp, thoughtful, graciously written study, based on impressive research in the archives of the French and Italian parties, as well as East German records, for insights into Soviet actions. The book does not change the overall understanding of the positions and roles of the two parties, but it adds much rich detail and subtlety. Summing up: highly recommended". – Choice on Which Socialism, Whose Détente?

"The four case studies provide substantial grist for those interested in generalizations about successful state building. Furthermore, specialists should find the cross-country comparisons on the development of tax regimes interesting. Summing up: recommended." – Choice on State-Building

"Filled with new information and original ideas and offering intriguing incentives for further research, this well-edited volume is not only a remarkable edition to the literature on European eugenics but provides invaluable insights into the broader currents of intellectual life in central and southeast Europe.” – Slavic Review on Blood and Homeland

Both From Solidarity to Martial Law and Islam and Tolerance in Wider Europe are highly recommended by Choice.

In the past few years Carleton University, as well as the Universities of Kansas and Maryland have excelled in adopting CEU Press books for courses. Our most popular titles were Prague Tales, A Life Under Russian Serfdom and Between Past and Future.

"This is the book that I wish someone had given me the day I arrived in Prague" – Prague Post on From Good King Wenceslas to the Good Soldier Svejk





Search the full text of our books:


 


Constitutions, Courts and History
Historical Narratives in Constitutional Adjudication


Renáta Uitz is Assistant Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law in the Legal Studies Department at Central European University.

Emphasizes the role history and historical narratives play in constitutional adjudication. Uitz provocatively draws attention to the often-tense relationship between the constitution and historical precedence highlighting the interpretive and normative nature of the law. Her work seeks to understand the conditions under which references to the past, history and traditions are attractive to lawyers, even when they have the potential of perpetuating indeterminacy in constitutional reasoning. Uitz conclusively argues that this constitutional indeterminacy is obscured by 'judicial rhetorical toolkits' of continuity and reconciliation that allow the court's reliance on the past to be unaccounted for. Uitz' rigorous analysis and extensive research makes this work an asset to legal scholars and practitioners alike.
The inquiry in this volume hopes to attract observers of constitutional adjudication, may they be reading constitutional jurisprudence from the quarters of constitutional law, constitutional history, political science or history departments.

""... focuses on the concept of historical narrative, the role played by the history and traditions of a people or nation... views supreme judicial decision making when courts look to
history for continuity and stability, including many comparative examples. Relying on French, Canadian, Hungarian, and Czech examples, the author shows that reliance on history may serve a legitimating purpose, but may also be deceptive. Summing Up: Recommended. Comparative law collections; graduate students, researchers, faculty, and
practitioners. - Choice

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements; Introduction Constitutional Adjudication Haunted by Indeterminacy Chapter One Historical Narratives in Constitutional Reasoning: Intuitions and Myths Revisited Chapter Two An Overview of Arguments Used in Constitutional Adjudication Chapter Three The Constitutional Text in the Light of History Chapter Four Behind Historical Narratives: The Promise of Continuity Chapter Five The Fruits of Reconciliation: A Bittersweet Harvest Conclusion, Index

2005
354 pages
ISBN 978-963-7326-32-5 cloth $47.95 / €35.95 / £24.95

 

top