Title: The Constitution's "Double Life"
HDR Candidate: Saeger Magalhaes Costa Renato
Milestone: Mid-candidature review
Time and Date: 10-11am, Friday, 4th Feb 2022
Location: Via Zoom - https://uqz.zoom.us/j/83416027941
Abstract
A significant debate in legal philosophy relates to the claims made by positivists and natural law theorists about what law is and its connection to normative presuppositions. Discussions touching on this topic have profound implications for the meaning of constitutions. What is a constitution? Is a constitution necessarily factual? Does it have a normative aspect? In this presentation, I will question whether considering constitutions as having a double life helps bring clarity to this debate. I will contextualise the idea of the constitution's double life in terms of the thesis' main argument and structure.