Tom Ginsburg teaches law at the University of Chicago. He works on comparative public law, international law, and East Asia.
Comparative Constitutions
Public Choice and Constitutional Design, Handbook of Public Choice (2010)
This chapter reviews the literature on public choice theory and constitutional design, focusing in particular...
Baghdad, Tokyo, Kabul . . . : Constitution-making in Occupied States (with Zachary Elkins and James Melton), William and Mary Law Review (2008)
We identify and document instances of “occupation constitutions,” those drafted under conditions of foreign military...
Commitment and Diffusion: Why Constitutions Incorporate International Law (with Svitlana Chernykh and Zachary Elkins), University of Illinois Law Review (2008)
Constitutional Courts in New Democracies: Understanding Variation in East Asia, Global Jurist (2006)
The article shows how judicial review has expanded around the globe from the United States,...
Ancillary Powers of Constitutional Courts, Institutions and Public Law: Comparative Perspectives (2004)
This chapter surveys powers of constitutional courts beyond the exercise of judicial review. It argues...
International Law
Getting to Rights: Treaty Ratification, Constitutional Convergence, and Human Rights Practice (with Zachary Elkins), ExpressO (2012)
Abstract: This article examines the adoption of rights in national constitutions in the post-WWII period...
Eastphalia as a Return to Westphalia, Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies (2010)
Prognosticators of the international scene have focused on two claims on which there is broad...
The Clash of Commitments at the International Criminal Court, Chicago Journal of International Law (2009)
This paper considers the International Criminal Court’s recent indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in...
Commitment and Diffusion: Why Constitutions Incorporate International Law (with Svitlana Chernykh and Zachary Elkins), University of Illinois Law Review (2008)
Odious Debt, Odious Credit, Economic Development and Democratization (with Thomas Ulen), Law and Contemporary Problems (2007)
Much attention has been paid to the problem of odious debt, but we introduce the...
Law and Economics
Libertarian Paternalism, Path Dependence, and Temporary Law (with Jonathan Masur and Richard McAdams), ExpressO (2013)
The recent wave of behavioral economics has led some theorists to advocate the possibility of...
Leximetrics: Why the Same Laws are Longer in Some Countries than Others (with Robert D. Cooter), American Law & Economics Association Annual Meetings (2006)
Economic Analysis and the Design of Constitutional Courts, Theoretical Inquiries in Law (2006)
Though nominally exercised on behalf of private citizens, constitutional judicial review does perform an insurance...
The Unreluctant Litigant? An Empirical Analysis of Japan's Turn to Litigation (with Glenn Hoetker), University of Illinois Legal Working Paper Series (2004)
This paper describes and analyzes the rapid increase in civil litigation in Japan during the...
The Market for Elite Law Firm Associates (with Jeffrey A. Wolf), University of Illinois Legal Working Paper Series (2004)
This article focuses on three information-related puzzles related to how large law firms recruit entry-level...
Asia
Eastphalia as a Return to Westphalia, Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies (2010)
Prognosticators of the international scene have focused on two claims on which there is broad...
Judicial Independence in East Asia: Implications for China, Judicial Independence in China (2010)
This chapter explores the experience of China’s East Asian neighbors with regard to judicial independence,...
The Constitutional Court and the Judicialization of Korean Politics, New Courts in Asia (2010)
The Constitutional Court of Korea recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, and has become one of...
Constitutional Afterlife: The Continuing Impact of Thailand's Postpolitical Constitution, International Journal of Constitutional Law (2009)
Thailand’s constitution of 1997 introduced profound changes into the country’s governance, creating a “postpolitical” democratic...
Lessons for Democratic Transitions: Case Studies from Asia, Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs (2007)
In an era when democratization is stalled or in retreat in many parts of the...
Courts
Reputation, Information and the Industrial Organization of the Judiciary (with Nuno Garoupa), ExpressO (2009)
The reputation of the judiciary, individually or as a whole, determines its status in any...
Comparative Law
On the Evasion of Executive Term Limits, William and Mary Law Review (2011)
Executive term limits are pre-commitments through which the polity restricts its ability to retain a...
Lawrence Friedman’s Comparative Law, LAW, SOCIETY AND HISTORY: ESSAYS ON THEMES IN THE LEGAL HISTORY AND LEGAL SOCIOLOGY OF LAWRENCE M. FRIEDMAN (2010)
For over four decades, Lawrence Friedman has been one of the key figures in American...
Reputation, Information and the Industrial Organization of the Judiciary (with Nuno Garoupa), ExpressO (2009)
The reputation of the judiciary, individually or as a whole, determines its status in any...
Guarding the Guardians: Judicial Councils and Judicial Independence (with Nuno Garoupa), American Journal of Comparative Law (2009)
This Article uses comparative evidence to inform the ongoing debate about the selection and discipline...
Judges
Judicial Independence in East Asia: Implications for China, Judicial Independence in China (2010)
This chapter explores the experience of China’s East Asian neighbors with regard to judicial independence,...
Reputation, Information and the Industrial Organization of the Judiciary (with Nuno Garoupa), ExpressO (2009)
The reputation of the judiciary, individually or as a whole, determines its status in any...
Guarding the Guardians: Judicial Councils and Judicial Independence (with Nuno Garoupa), American Journal of Comparative Law (2009)
This Article uses comparative evidence to inform the ongoing debate about the selection and discipline...
Law and Development
Pitfalls of Measuring the Rull of Law, Hague Journal on the Rule of Law (2011)
The recent demand for new measures of the rule of law confronts several meth- odological...
Book Review: Democracy, Markets and Doomsaying: Is Ethnic Conflict Inevitable?, University of Illinois Legal Working Paper Series (2004)
Amy Chua's World on Fire is a stimulating book that links the 1990s spread of...
Constitutional Law
On the Evasion of Executive Term Limits, William and Mary Law Review (2011)
Executive term limits are pre-commitments through which the polity restricts its ability to retain a...
Comparative and Foreign Law
Getting to Rights: Treaty Ratification, Constitutional Convergence, and Human Rights Practice (with Zachary Elkins), ExpressO (2012)
Abstract: This article examines the adoption of rights in national constitutions in the post-WWII period...
Constitutional Law, Generally
Getting to Rights: Treaty Ratification, Constitutional Convergence, and Human Rights Practice (with Zachary Elkins), ExpressO (2012)
Abstract: This article examines the adoption of rights in national constitutions in the post-WWII period...
No subject area
he Judicialization of Japanese Politics? (with Tokujin Matsudaira), Japanese Law: An Era of Transition (2013)
On the Interpretability of Law: Lessons from the Decoding of National Constitutions (with James Melton, Zachary Elkins, and Kalev Leetaru), British Journal of Political Science (2012)
An implicit element of many theories of constitutional enforcement is the degree to which those...
Courts and New Democracies: Recent Works, Law and Social Inquiry (2012)
Recent literature on comparative judicial politics reveals a variety of roles that courts adopt in...
Deciding not to decide: Deferral in constitutional design (with Rosalind Dixon), I-CON: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW (2012)
In designing constitutions, constitutional drafters often face constraints that cause them to leave things “undecided”—or...