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Netherlands Journal of Legal Philosophy

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Issue 1, 2009 Expand all abstracts

    In an editorial article the editors supply a commentary on the topics covered in the journal.


Jaap Hage
Jaap Hage is hoogleraar Algemene Rechtsleer aan de Universiteit Maastricht.
Article

Access_open Rechtsbeginselen en positivisme!?

Keywords rechtsbeginselen, rechtspositivisme, Brouwer, Dworkin, soft positivism
Authors Arend Soeteman
AbstractAuthor's information

    In this contribution I argue that Brouwer’s legal positivism suffers from an internal tension that is not easily solved. This tension stems from the combination of two strands in Brouwer’s thought. The first is that Brouwer wants to stick to the legal positivist view that the law is fixed by convention. The second is that there can be exceptions to the application of legal rules, based on legal principles. The combination of these two strands is, I argue, problematic, because the conventional basis for legal principles will usually be lacking in hard cases. One may then argue, as Brouwer does, that where conventions are lacking there is no law and the judge is not bound by the law. But then exceptions to rules are also allowed where there are no conventional principles to justify these exceptions. This contradicts Brouwer’s starting point that exceptions to the application of rules are possible on the basis of legal principles.


Arend Soeteman
Arend Soeteman is hoogleraar Encyclopedie en Rechtsfilosofie aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Article

Access_open Autonomie als voorwaarde tot legaliteit

Keywords autonomie, legaliteit, Brouwer, Fuller, certificering
Authors Pauline Westerman
AbstractAuthor's information

    Brouwer defended the view that the autonomy of the individual citizen is furthered by articulated, precise and clear legislation. The question arises whether all kinds of rules can be said to enhance such autonomy. It is argued that a distinction should be drawn between rules that dictate desirable outcomes, on the one hand, and rules that determine the way the game is played, on the other. Rules of the game often reflect the way they were drafted and can be seen as the embodiment of power relations between rule-makers. Rules that dictate outcomes, on the other hand, are often drafted by experts who analyse the goals to be reached. The view is defended that only rules of the game – potentially – enhance the autonomy of the citizen, whereas outcome-rules are potentially manipulative, tending to exclude those who are ill-equipped to realize the prescribed outcomes. The virtues of rules therefore do not merely reside in their clear and precise nature, but are largely derived from their capacity to regulate the relations amongst citizens who were included in the process of rulemaking.


Pauline Westerman
Pauline Westerman is hoogleraar Rechtsfilosofie aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.
Article

Access_open Op de bres voor rechtszekerheid

Keywords rechtszekerheid, in dubio pro libertate, Brouwer, rechtspositivisme, constructivisme
Authors Marc Loth
AbstractAuthor's information

    This paper addresses the principle of legal certainty, which was central in the work of Bob Brouwer. He both regretted and disputed the decline of this principle in the theory and practice of law, trying to defend it against the spirit of the time. I argue that this attempt was in vain, because it opposes recent developments in law, as is illustrated by a notorious case of the European Court of Human Rights. Moreover, these developments invoke a constructivist account of legal certainty, which opposes Brouwer’s legal positivist account. Additionally, this meta-level shows that legal certainty in its classical form is indefensible, which – of course – does not mean that it is senseless altogether. On the contrary, the principle of legal certainty does have meaning in current legal systems, and it is the task of new generations of young scholars to try to get a grip on it. In doing so, they will undoubtedly make use of Brouwer’s work, which excels both in the depth of thinking and the clarity of writing.


Marc Loth
Marc Loth is raadsheer in de Hoge Raad der Nederlanden.
Article

Access_open Recht als sociaal feit en recht als praktische rede

Keywords recht als sociaal verschijnsel, recht en praktische rede, recht en moraal, Brouwer
Authors Jaap Hage
AbstractAuthor's information

    Brouwer argued against a vision of the law in which moral considerations partly determine the contents of the law. He did this for moral reasons, mainly because of the uncertainty such a vision would cause. This seems a strange view because it means that the nature of the law would depend on moral considerations concerning legal certainty. Most of the present paper is devoted to exploring two conceptions of the law, law as social fact and law as practical reason. It is argued that a view like Brouwer’s fits in the law as practical reason conception and is therefore not so strange as might seem at first sight.


Jaap Hage
Jaap Hage is hoogleraar Algemene rechtsleer aan de Universiteit Maastricht en gasthoogleraar aan de Universiteit Hasselt.
Article

Access_open ‘The Soviet Union did not have a legal system’

An interview with Jeremy Waldron on the methodology debate, historic injustice and the citation of foreign law

Keywords normative positivism, historic injustice, restitution of property rights, citation of foreign law, methodology debate
Authors Kees Quist and Wouter Veraart
AbstractAuthor's information

    This interview with Jeremy Waldron covers three topics. Firstly, we dealt with the methodology debate, that is, the discussion about how to proceed in analyzing the nature of law. Does the question ‘What is law?’ require a descriptive analysis of the concept of law or, rather, a normative exercise in political philosophy? Secondly, we spoke about the role of law in response to historic injustice, especially in relation to the restitution of property rights. On this topic Waldron vindicates the ‘supersession-thesis’, the idea that, due to changed circumstances and the passage of time, historic injustices become superseded. The third section of the interview is devoted to Waldron’s perspective on the citation of foreign law by national judges.


Kees Quist
Kees Quist is junior lecturer and PhD fellow at Utrecht Law School.

Wouter Veraart
Wouter Veraart is professor of Legal Philosophy at the VU University Amsterdam.
Article

Access_open Lettres Persanes 13

Res publica en rechtsstaat: vrijheid in een onvolmaakte samenleving – Pleidooi voor een functionele (niet te bevlogen) grondwet

Keywords Vlaanderen, constitutie, Grondwet, fundamentele vrijheden
Authors Matthias Storme
AbstractAuthor's information

    In light of the possibility that Belgium could fall apart in coming years this contribution argues that it is time to reflect on a constitution for Flanders: What are the characteristics of a good constitution? A good constitution would entrench fundamental freedoms, which are historically rooted in society. Moreover, it obliges the government to maintain and enforce the laws, preventing abuse of power and corruption. Finally, a functioning constitution stands above temporary interests of partisan politics, and should not be used as a means to encumber future generations with our ideological choices.


Matthias Storme
Matthias Storme is advocaat aan de balie van Brussel en buitengewoon hoogleraar aan de Katholieke Universiteit Leuven en aan de Universiteit Antwerpen.
Book Review

Access_open T.F.E. Tjong Tjin Tai, Zorgplichten en zorgethiek

Keywords zorgplicht, zorgethiek
Authors Rob Schwitters
AbstractAuthor's information

    Book review of T.F.E. Tjong Tjin Tai, Duties of care and ethics of care [Zorgplichten en zorgethiek], Deventer: Kluwer 2007, 455 p.


Rob Schwitters
Rob Schwitters is universitair hoofddocent aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam.
Book Review

Access_open M. Buijsen (red.), Onrechtmatig leven? Opstellen naar aanleiding van Baby Kelly

Keywords wrongful life, wrongful birth, baby Kelly
Authors Britta van Beers
AbstractAuthor's information

    Book review of Martin Buijsen (ed.), Wrongful Life? Essays on the Baby-Kelly-case [Onrechtmatig leven. Opstellen naar aanleiding van Baby Kelly], Nijmegen: Valkhof Pers 2006, 234 p.


Britta van Beers
Britta van Beers is universitair docent Rechtsfilosofie aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Book Review

Access_open R.C. Hartendorp, Praktisch gesproken, alledaagse civiele rechtspleging als praktische oordeelsvorming

Keywords oordeelsvorming, rechtspraktijk, hermeneutiek, pragmatisme
Authors Liesbeth Huppes-Cluysenaer
AbstractAuthor's information

    Book review of R.C. Hartendorp, Practically Spoken. Everyday Civil Procedure as Practical Decisioning [Praktisch gesproken, alledaagse civiele rechtspleging als practische oordeelsvorming], Rotterdam: Erasmus University Rotterdam 2008, 235 p.


Liesbeth Huppes-Cluysenaer
Liesbeth Huppes-Cluysenaer is universitair docent Rechtssociologie aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam.
Book Review

Access_open Koo van der Wal, Wat is er met de ethiek gebeurd? Over ethisch denken onder laatmoderne omstandigheden

Keywords ethiek, modernisme, mensenrechten, duurzaamheid
Authors Jonathan Soeharno
AbstractAuthor's information

    Book review of Koo van der Wal, What happened to ethics? On ethical thinking under late-modern circumstances [Wat is er met de ethiek gebeurd? Over ethisch denken onder laatmoderne omstandigheden], Kampen: Klement 2008, 245 p.


Jonathan Soeharno
Jonathan Soeharno is advocaat bij De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek N.V.