Contracting for Catastrophe: Legitimizing Emergency Constitutions by Drawing on Social Contract Theory
31 Pages Posted: 13 Dec 2018
Date Written: November 21, 2018
Abstract
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”, i.e., the constitutionally safeguarded rules of operation for a state of emergency. In this paper, I ask whether inclusion of an emergency constitution can be legitimized by drawing on social contract theory. I argue 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.
Keywords: State of Emergency, Martial Law, State of Siege, Emergency Constitution, Constitutional Political Economy, Social Contract Theory
JEL Classification: D71, H11, K00
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation