Constitutionalism Justified analyzes leading Frankfurt School theorist Rainer Forst's theory of a basic right to justification, unique in combining insights from philosophy, constitutionalism, and legal theory. Drawing upon Kant's critical philosophy and Habermas's discourse theory, he has developed fresh perspectives on core topics like the concept of justice, the relation between modernity and emancipation, and human rights. The contributors to this volume explore Forst's work from three different perspectives: philosophy, legal philosophy, and constitutional theory.The first part of this volume addresses the philosophical argument of the basic right to justification, including the influence of Kantian thought on this right, the deontological versus teleological fundamentals, the tension between moral pluralism and universalism, and the relation of the right to justification with social and distributive justice. The second part covers how the right to justification is embedded in constitutional and legal frameworks. It explores the implications that Forst's right to justification has for conceptualizing constitutional democracy and its foundations, and how the moral right to justification may translate into particular practices of justification that are constrained by a legal framework. This includes discussion of the value of constitutionalism in general, of the relation between the formal structure of democracy and substantive justice, of the inclusion of outsiders to the constitutional setting, and of proportionality analysis and judicial review as forms of justification. The book concludes with Rainer Forst's reply to his interlocutors, making the book a valuable source for future research.

IntroductionBy Ester Herlin-Karnell and Matthias KlattPart One | The Right to Justification1. The Innate Right of Humanity and the Right to JustificationBy Arthur Ripstein2. Engaging with Forst's "Right to Justification": Kantian Analogies and the Problem of SubjectivityBy Claudio Corradetti3. Human Rights, Interests, and VariationBy Andrea Sangiovanni4. Distributions, Relations, and Justifications: Mixing Flavors of EgalitarianismBy Christian Hiebaum5. Practical JusticeBy Bernhard Schlink6. Noumenal Power, Reasons, and Justification: A Critique of ForstBy Enzo Rossi and Sameer Bajaj7. The Limits of Justification: Critique Disclosure, and ReflexivityBy Lois McNayPart Two | Constitutional Theory8. Proportionality and JustificationBy Matthias Klatt9. Republicanising Rights? Proportionality, Justification, and Non-dominationBy Eoin Daly10. Constitutionalism and JusticeBy Alon Harel11. Democracy as Good in Itself: Three Kinds of Noninstrumental JustificationBy Christian F. Rostbøll12. The Concept of Non-domination and the Right to Justification in EU Security-Related TextsBy Ester Herlin-KarnellPart Three | Responses13. The Constitution of Justification: Replies and CommentsBy Rainer Forst