The Institutional Dialogue in American Constitutionalism

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K01266
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 05010:Legal theory and history-related
• Research Institution: Aomori Chuo Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: Shiina Tomohiko 青森中央学院大学, 経営法学部, 准教授 (00438441)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 米国公法の継受 / プロセス法学 / 制度間対話 / 行政国家 / 民主主義

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Since the latter half of twentieth century, it has been observed that Americans reach an agreement on the issues of great importance through a long series of elections and litigations. Currently this phenomenon is affirmatively called 'the entrenchment of constitutional norms through institutional dialogue'. Originally the idea was invented by the legal process scholars in the 1940-60s. The same idea was also imported to and became influential within the Japanese legal academy after the Second World War.
The working of institutional dialogue depends on constitutionally mandated structures of law-making institutions. For instance, regular term elections and majority votes are such structures for Congress, so are adversarial litigation and res judicata for Courts. These principles work independently from their moral substance. While this morally objective nature promotes people's participation into deliberation, it often obstructs final settlement on constitutional issues.

Free Research Field

米国法思想

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本が米国から継受した三権分立型の統治制度は，国会や裁判所といった諸機関がそれぞれの独自の役割を継続的に果たすことによって，社会の重要問題を解決し，国民に貢献すると想定されてきた。しかし，母国である米国では，憲法に定める基本原理が時として濫用され，紛争の長期化を助長することもある。これがシステムそのものの機能不全なのかどうかの判断は時期尚早であるが，選挙や訴訟の度に以前の争点が蒸し返されるような状況が，統治システムの在り方として健全なのかどうかは，真剣に検討してみる必要があろう。他方で，国民の統治参加を促進するという観点からは，米国憲政の現状には以前として学ぶ所がところが少なくない。