Niels Petersen – författare

Equality's Guardians offers an unparalleled comparative analysis of constitutional equality case law from apex courts across 18 jurisdictions worldwide, including key international human rights treaties. This groundbreaking book aims to map various courts' diverse equality case law, revealing a richer comparative picture than the commonly discussed non-discrimination model prevalent in common law jurisdictions. By identifying four distinct models of equality, the book classifies each jurisdiction based on the level of deference courts grant to the legislature.The second aim of Equality's Guardians is to delve into the reasons behind courts' choices of specific equality models. Rather than providing a uniform answer, the analysis uncovers a range of cultural and institutional factors influencing these decisions. This nuanced approach highlights that the models of equality must be understood within the unique institutional and cultural contexts of each jurisdiction.Ultimately, Equality's Guardians: How Courts Conceptualize Equal Protection and Non-Discrimination Guarantees challenges the notion of a one-size-fits-all approach to equality. It emphasizes that the identified models are not to be normatively ranked but appreciated as products of their specific environments. This comprehensive study is essential for anyone interested in the complexities of constitutional equality and the varied ways it is interpreted and applied around the world. This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read on Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.

This book analyzes developments in the jurisprudence of the US Supreme Court in the Obama era. It follows three main threads. First, it seeks to describe and characterize the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence in this period. Second, it assesses factors influencing developments in the jurisprudence. Finally, it draws broader lessons on how constitutional change works. As the oldest surviving written constitution among Western democracies, and despite having high hurdles for textual changes, the US Constitution has proved to be remarkably flexible. The main reason for this flexibility is the interpretation by the US Supreme Court. This book teases out the mechanism of how the Court manages to maintain this flexibility. Bringing together legal scholars from the United States and Europe who focus on different aspects of the Court’s jurisprudence, the work consists of five parts. Part I analyzes the relationship of the Supreme Court with the democratic process. Part II deals with the jurisprudence on fundamental rights. Part III looks at constitutional aspects of international relations. Part IV offers comparative perspectives with Germany. The book provides a valuable reference for academics and researchers in constitutional law and legal history.

The principle of proportionality is currently one of the most discussed topics in the field of comparative constitutional law. Many critics claim that courts use the proportionality test as an instrument of judicial self-empowerment. Proportionality and Judicial Activism tests this hypothesis empirically; it systematically and comparatively analyses the fundamental rights jurisprudence of the Canadian Supreme Court, the German Federal Constitutional Court and the South African Constitutional Court. The book shows that the proportionality test does give judges a considerable amount of discretion. However, this analytical openness does not necessarily lead to judicial activism. Instead, judges are faced with significant institutional constraints, as a result of which all three examined courts refrain from using proportionality for purposes of judicial activism.

The principle of proportionality is currently one of the most discussed topics in the field of comparative constitutional law. Many critics claim that courts use the proportionality test as an instrument of judicial self-empowerment. Proportionality and Judicial Activism tests this hypothesis empirically; it systematically and comparatively analyses the fundamental rights jurisprudence of the Canadian Supreme Court, the German Federal Constitutional Court and the South African Constitutional Court. The book shows that the proportionality test does give judges a considerable amount of discretion. However, this analytical openness does not necessarily lead to judicial activism. Instead, judges are faced with significant institutional constraints, as a result of which all three examined courts refrain from using proportionality for purposes of judicial activism.

Responding to the growing importance of economic reasoning in legal scholarship, this innovative work provides an essential introduction to the economic tools which can usefully be employed in legal reasoning. It is geared specifically towards those without a great deal of exposure to economic thinking and provides law students, legal scholars and practitioners with a practical toolbox to shape their writing, understanding and case preparation.The book's clear focus on economic methods poses a refreshing change to conventional textbooks in this area, which tend to focus on content-related theories. Recognizing that it is often difficult to derive adequate conclusions for legal arguments without first understanding the methodological limitations of economic studies, this book provides a comprehensive coverage of the most important economic concepts in order to bridge this gap. These include:game theorypublic choice and social choice theorybehavioural economicsempirical research designbasic statisticsOwing to its concise and accessible style, Economic Methods for Lawyers will provide an invaluable companion for legal scholars or practitioners who wish to utilise economic methods for developing legal argument.Contributors include: M. Englerth, S. J. Goerg, S. Magen, A. Morell, N. Petersen, K.U. Schmolke, E.V. Towfigh

Ökonomische Argumente werden auch für Juristen immer wichtiger. Dieses Lehrbuch soll Juristen mit ökonomischen Methoden vertraut machen, um ihnen ein besseres Verständnis dieser Argumente zu geben. Es richtet sich dabei sowohl an Studierende als auch an Wissenschaftler und Praktiker. Für die dritte Auflage wurde das Lehrbuch aktualisiert und punktuell überarbeitet. Die dritte Auflage des Lehrbuchs greift aktuelle Entwicklungen auf und wurde durch interne und externe Verlinkungen konsequent für die digitale Nutzung optimiert. Das eBook ist unmittelbar im Open Access verfügbar."Da die Verzahnung rechtlicher und ökonomischer Aspekte in den meisten Lehrbüchern in der Regel viel zu kurz kommt [...], schließt es eine bedeutende Lücke in der juristischen und wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Literatur."Studium 2017, Ausgabe 100, 20"In Europa kursieren immer noch verschiedene Missverständnisse über die Rechtsökonomie, die wohl auch aus mangelnder Kenntnis der Methoden resultieren. Das Buch leistet somit einen Beitrag zur Aufklärung, indem es Grundkenntnisse vermittelt, über die jeder Rechtswissenschaftler verfügen sollte."Martin Gelter RabelsZ 2019, 461-464