The War Against Law

What's Wrong with Common Good Constitutionalism

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In the UK, lawyers of the 'Judicial Power Project' – a group largely based at elite universities with close ties to far-right figures in the US and Europe – rail against 'judicial overreach'. In this groundbreaking book, David Dyzenhaus investigates the ideology of this group, contending that their true aim is to establish rule by an illiberal executive under the guise of benefitting the 'common good'. Dyzenhaus makes a powerful argument that this is a fundamentally illiberal ideology with roots in authoritarian thought from the 1930s, one which threatens to take a wrecking ball to the rule of law and democracy. The War against Law offers a fascinating examination of these lawyers' ideas against the backdrop of the 2024 Rwanda Act, which required rendering asylum seekers in the UK to Rwanda. The debates both before and after the Act make concrete profound questions about the nature of the rule of law and its role in a liberal democracy.

Reviews:

'It is marvellous that David Dyzenhaus, one of the world's top legal and constitutional theorists, unrivalled on wicked law in modern times, should enter the debate about judicial power in Britain. Wherever anyone stands on these issues, or on politics generally, they must read this book.'

Paul Tucker, author of Global Discord

'David Dyzenhaus' important book offers an unusual combination: it is subtle and highly sophisticated, but also hard-hitting when it comes to recent trends in British law. Anyone concerned with how illiberalism translated into law today should read it.'

Jan-Werner Müller, Princeton University