Militant Rule of Law : Legal Imperfection and What To Do About It

This book offers a means of protecting the rule of law and counteracting its misuse. It analyses inherent anomalies that occur in so-called consolidated democracies, and the responses where the rule of law is seriously undermined. Only by identifying legal imperfections and addressing them, can crises of liberal democracies be avoided.

Prevention of an erosion of the rule of law is of utmost importance for democracy, because once autocratization begins, only one in five democracies manage to avert breakdown. This book offers a means of protecting the rule of law and counteracting its misuse for illiberal purpose. It analyses inherent anomalies that occur in so-called consolidated democracies, and the responses where the rule of law is seriously undermined. Only by identifying legal imperfections and addressing them, can crises of liberal democracies be avoided. András Sajó provides new theoretical and practical perspectives on legal positivism and legal interpretation. Making the rule of law more robust and its restoration successful requires an innovative, more militant approach to the rule of law. This book proves that unorthodox legal solutions can satisfy rule of law expectations. Otherwise, legality becomes a suicide pact for democracy. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.