style

Liberalism

style

As both a framework for and political tradition in Western legal thought, “liberalism” is core to the logic of Anglo-Canadian law and related legal orders in a globalized world.1 As Ian McKay argues:2 [T]he category ‘Canada’ should … denote a historically specific project of rule, rather than either an essence we must defend or an empty homogeneous space we must possess. Canada-as-project can be analyzed through the study of the implantation and expansion over a heterogeneous terrain of a certain politico-economic logic–to wit, liberalism. ...

Styles of Argument

style

What makes a “good” or “persuasive” or “correct” legal argument? An answer to the question is often fundamental to resolving a dispute in court or convincing a political decision-maker to make some kind of legal or policy change. One way to answer this question is to focus on “style”.1 This idea of style will seem pretty wishy-washy to some people at first. Aren’t legal arguments clear, logical, and rational? Knowing enough about the law and the facts, shouldn’t we always be able to determine the correct legal answer to a problem? ...