James Bardley Thayer and the Problem of „Unconstitutionality Beyond Reasonable Doubt” Cover Image

James Bradley Thayer i problem „niekonstytucyjności ponad wszelką wątpliwość”
James Bardley Thayer and the Problem of „Unconstitutionality Beyond Reasonable Doubt”

Author(s): Jerzy Zajadło
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: James Bradley Thayer; judicial restraint; judicial review; formula beyond reasonable doubt; Polish consitutional crisis

Summary/Abstract: The main purpose of this paper is the presentation of Harvard Law School scholar James Bradley Thayer and his famous article The Origin and Scope of the American Doctrine of Constitutional Law, published in Harvard Law Review in 1893. Thayer formulated therein his theory of judicial restraint based on the formula unconstitutionality beyond reasonable doubt. This theory influenced such eminent judges and scholars like Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louis Brandeis, Learned Hand and, last but not least, Felix Franfurter, and is still broadly discussed in contemporary American constitutional jurisprudence. In conclusion the author proposes to make American experiences in this area useful for the current debate concerning Polish constitutional crisis.

  • Issue Year: 25/2023
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 7-20
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Polish