Academic

Blitt on Defamation of Religion & the Migration of Constitutional Ideas

By Lawrence Solum

Robert C. Blitt (University of Tennessee College of Law) has posted The Bottom Up Journey of 'Defamation of Religion' from Muslim States to the United Nations: A Case Study of the Migration of Anti-Constitutional Ideas on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

This article is intended to elaborate on the existing academic literature addressing the migration of constitutional ideas. Through an examination of ongoing efforts to enshrine "defamation of religion" as a violation of international human rights, the author confirms that the phenomenon of constitutional migration is not restricted to positive norms, but rather encompasses negative ideas that may ultimately serve to undermine international and domestic constitutionalism. The case study also demonstrates that the movement of anti-constitutional ideas is not restricted to the domain of "international security" law, and further, that the vertical axis linking international and domestic law is in fact a two-way channel that permits the transmission of domestic anti-constitutional ideas up to the international level.

In reaching the findings presented herein, the article also adds to the universalism-relativism debate by demonstrating that allowances for ?plurality consciousness? on the international level may in certain instances undermine norms previously negotiated and accepted as authoritative by the international community. From this perspective, the movement in favor of prohibiting "defamation of religion" is not merely a case study that helps to expand our understanding of how anti-constitutional ideas migrate, but rather indicative of a reenergized campaign to challenge the promise, status and stability of universal human rights norms.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on December 29, 2010 (boomark / email).