Description
What legal knowledge supports right-wing rights transformation? Insights from comparative constitutional law indicate that right-wing populism in power is accompanied by structural changes aimed at the accumulation and petrification of political power at the expense of the rule of law and democracy (Magyar 2016; Sadurski 2019; Bugaric and Tushnet 2022). In these analyses, the focus is most often on the institutions, mostly ‘captured’ constitutional courts. But no less important is the role of knowledge and the academy of law whose concepts have the potential to legitimize as well as delegitimize constitutional change. Grasping this role of constitutional scholars as 'constitutional actors' (Lazarus 2020) requires going beyond doctrinal-constitutional considerations and adopting a more socio-legal perspective of legal mobilisation (Lehoucq & Taylor 2019).The paper will analyse the underlying legal concepts used in legitimising right-wing legal mobilization. Theoretical considerations are guided by a case study of the Polish Ordo Iuris Foundation. This legal right-wing NGO is engaged not only in public litigation and legislative initiatives of restricting reproductive rights or protection of freedom of religion but also in academic and scientific activities. Members of the organization combine activist roles with scientific work. Thanks to generous donations to the Polish government, the NGO has established a Collegium Intermarium – a university whose curriculum embodies a transformative right-wing legal imaginary. Supplemented by an analysis of the selected works of conservative lawyers and thinkers (Vermuele 2022; Tollefsen 2021) paper draws a picture of legal concepts mobilized against liberal democracy. Academic ideas such as postmodern scepticism about textual determination, the realist conception of judicial decision or originalism in legal interpretation are merged with new natural human rights discourse into a reservoir of tools that right-wing legal activists and constitutional judges can then use to transform existing liberal order.
| Period | 22 Mar 2023 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Populism, non-state actors, and legal mobilization in Europe |
| Event type | Workshop |
| Location | Florence, ItalyShow on map |