%0 Journal Article %1 walters_dicey_2012 %A Walters, Mark D. %D 2012 %J Oxford J Legal Studies %K constitutional history, jurisprudence, law law, legal methodology, of rule theory, %N 1 %P 21--49 %R 10.1093/ojls/gqr031 %T Dicey on Writing the Law of the Constitution %U http://ojls.oxfordjournals.org/content/32/1/21 %V 32 %X Albert Venn Dicey's Law of the Constitution is one of the most influential books on public law in the common law tradition—but it is also one of the most misunderstood. Dicey is generally thought to have adopted an analytical or positivist method with a view to codifying the unwritten constitution as a set of rules, but this characterization of his work sits uneasily with the book's comparative and historical references and its underlying ‘Whig’ politics. Law of the Constitution is therefore thought to be theoretically confused or even duplicitous and of little value to lawyers and legal scholars today. This essay challenges this view of Dicey and his famous book. It examines Dicey's unpublished lecture notes and private correspondence as well as his personal characteristics as a legal scholar and writer in an effort to identify Dicey's own ideas about the theoretical foundations of his work. The result is a ‘Dicey’ that might not be recognized today—one who embraced a legal theory that integrated analytical, historical, comparative and normative elements of legal interpretation together through discursive narratives about general principles. Read as an interpretation of legal principles rather than a textbook of legal rules, Law of the Constitution regains its theoretical coherence and it may offer valuable lessons for understanding constitutionalism today.

@article{walters_dicey_2012, abstract = {Albert Venn Dicey's Law of the Constitution is one of the most influential books on public law in the common law tradition—but it is also one of the most misunderstood. Dicey is generally thought to have adopted an analytical or positivist method with a view to codifying the unwritten constitution as a set of rules, but this characterization of his work sits uneasily with the book's comparative and historical references and its underlying ‘Whig’ politics. Law of the Constitution is therefore thought to be theoretically confused or even duplicitous and of little value to lawyers and legal scholars today. This essay challenges this view of Dicey and his famous book. It examines Dicey's unpublished lecture notes and private correspondence as well as his personal characteristics as a legal scholar and writer in an effort to identify Dicey's own ideas about the theoretical foundations of his work. The result is a ‘Dicey’ that might not be recognized today—one who embraced a legal theory that integrated analytical, historical, comparative and normative elements of legal interpretation together through discursive narratives about general principles. Read as an interpretation of legal principles rather than a textbook of legal rules, Law of the Constitution regains its theoretical coherence and it may offer valuable lessons for understanding constitutionalism today.}, added-at = {2017-06-14T12:13:13.000+0200}, author = {Walters, Mark D.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2a70a8ea69fb86b564db0e34be82be92d/mjvw}, doi = {10.1093/ojls/gqr031}, file = {Oxford J Legal Studies-2012-Walters-21-49.pdf:/home/matthijs/.zotero/zotero/4zaasxx8.default/zotero/storage/B26PUED7/Oxford J Legal Studies-2012-Walters-21-49.pdf:application/pdf;Snapshot:/home/matthijs/.zotero/zotero/4zaasxx8.default/zotero/storage/KRZQG8DH/21.html:text/html}, interhash = {3f7a1c6e16e5c8f53edb843614982529}, intrahash = {a70a8ea69fb86b564db0e34be82be92d}, issn = {0143-6503, 1464-3820}, journal = {Oxford J Legal Studies}, keywords = {constitutional history, jurisprudence, law law, legal methodology, of rule theory,}, language = {en}, month = mar, number = 1, pages = {21--49}, timestamp = {2017-06-14T12:20:58.000+0200}, title = {Dicey on {Writing} the {Law} of the {Constitution}}, url = {http://ojls.oxfordjournals.org/content/32/1/21}, urldate = {2014-09-22}, volume = 32, year = 2012 }