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14 - Contracting for Catastrophe

Legitimizing Emergency Constitutions by Drawing on Social Contract Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2024

Christian Bjørnskov
Affiliation:
Aarhus Universitet, Denmark
Stefan Voigt
Affiliation:
Universität Hamburg
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Summary

States of emergency are declared frequently in all parts of the world. Their declaration routinely implies a suspension of basic constitutional rights. In the last half century, it has become the norm for constitutions to contain an explicit “emergency constitution,” that is, the constitutionally safeguarded rules of operation for a state of emergency. This chapter asks whether inclusion of an emergency constitution can be legitimized by drawing on social contract theory, arguing that there are important arguments, both against and in favor of constitutionalized emergency provisions, and that social contract theory – as applied by economists – can be of some help when deciding whether to have, or not to have an emergency constitution.

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State of Emergency
An Economic Analysis
, pp. 351 - 375
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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