Our supermajoritarian constitution

This article proposes a new theory of the Constitution. The authors argue that the central principle underlying the Constitution is governance through supermajority rules. More specifically, the Constitution embraces supermajority rules as a means of improving legislative decisionmaking in various c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Texas law review 2002-03, Vol.80 (4), p.703
Main Authors: McGinnis, John O, Rappaport, Michael B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bill of Rights-US
Constitutional law
Constitutions
Government
History
Legislation
Majority rule
Political power
Public good
Theory
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This article proposes a new theory of the Constitution. The authors argue that the central principle underlying the Constitution is governance through supermajority rules. More specifically, the Constitution embraces supermajority rules as a means of improving legislative decisionmaking in various circumstances where majority rule would operate poorly. Supermajoritarianism is thus a means of promoting the more general constitutional principle of republicanism, which attempts to promote the public good within a system of popular representation. The supermajoritarian principle is central both to an accurate description of the Constitution and to the proper understanding of the normative reasons why the Constitution binds Americans. The Constitution contains at least seven express supermajority rules governing important matters such as ratifying treaties, convicting impeached officials, expelling members from the legislature, and establishing and amending the Constitution. Significantly, this employment of supermajority rules was largely an American innovation, especially within the Anglo-American legal system.
ISSN:0040-4411
1942-857X