The Constitution in the Material Sense

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-138-05316-8
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 264 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Law and Politics

The Constitution in the Material Sense, first published in 1940, is a classic of constitutional thought of the 20th Century, and it is widely considered to be the masterpiece of Constantino Mortati, a towering figure in Italian jurisprudence and one of the "founding fathers" of the Italian constitution.

The book, published here in English for the first time, puts forward a full-fledged theory of the legal order for the modern State. Mortati’s argument is based on a development of legal institutionalism undergirded by a politically realist tone. His contribution to this debate offers an original perspective on the relationship between the constitutional order and society. The material constitution pushes lawyers to see the normativity of the legal order through the coupling of law and politics, conceiving the ordering power of the material constitution as supported by forces that gather around fundamental political ends. And, crucially, all of this is declared – against classic legal positivism – to fall within the scope of legal science, and hence to be incorporated into the analysis of law’s functioning.

In this respect, Mortati’s book advances one of the most compelling and thought-provoking accounts of the essential link between political forces and the legal order. Not only does it set forth a most innovative theory of the material foundation of law, but owing to its core intuitions, it is of the utmost relevance to any contemporary analysis of the nexus of law and politics.

Zielgruppe

Academic, Adult education, General, and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mortati, Costantino

Weitere Mitwirkende

Goldoni, Marco

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Recht, Rechtswissenschaft Allgemein
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie
• Rechtswissenschaften Öffentliches Recht Staats- und Verfassungsrecht
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sozialphilosophie, Politische Philosophie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction 1. The Main Theories of the Material Constitution 2. The Content and Nature of the Material Constitution 3. The Function of the Material Constitution 4. Conclusion 5. Appendix (1931): The function of the material constitution

Über Autor(innen)

Costantino Mortati (1891–1985) was one of the most important Italian constitutional scholars of the twentieth century. Born in Calabria to an Italo-Albanian family, he pursued a broad academic path, earning degrees in law, philosophy, and political science in Rome. His interdisciplinary training shaped his later approach to constitutional law and theory. Mortati began his academic career in the interwar period, teaching constitutional law at several universities, including Messina, Macerata, Naples, and Rome. His early work engaged with the institutional transformations of fascist Italy and introduced key concepts in constitutional doctrine such as 'the governing function', but he remains best known for his influential theory of the “material constitution,” After World War II, Mortati played a key role in shaping modern Italy. Elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1946 as a member of the Christian Democratic Party, he contributed to drafting the Italian Constitution as part of the Commission of 75. In 1960, he was appointed a judge of the Constitutional Court, where he served until 1972. His work remains central to Italian constitutional doctrine and theory today.

Marco Goldoni is Professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Glasgow. His main research interests are in jurisprudence, constitutional theory, Law and Political Economy.