Review article
HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT OF REPRESENTATION. ELEMENTS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE MODERN THEORY OF POLITICAL REPRESENTATION II
Luka Ribarević
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Domagoj Vujeva
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The authors of this text consider the third form of representation developed
in the medieval doctrine of corporation, the so-called identity or pars pro toto
representation. It concerns a relationship in which a part of the corporation –
council, assembly, or some members – is considered identical to the whole
body of the corporation in terms of its activity. The main purpose of identity
representation is to mediate the idea of legal unity of corporation with the
multitude of its members or parts of which it consists: by the act of representation
different parts of the corporation form its legal unity at the moment of
reaching decisions. Unlike in agency representation, the position of the representative
is thus not the consequence of authorisation or of the transfer of
power of action by those represented: the representative and the represented
are not two separate legal entities; rather, it is considered that with the action
of its “elevated” part, the corporation acts by itself.
The text presents three fundamental subtypes of identity representation: Marsilius
of Padua’s valentior pars, rendering majority decisions on issues concerning
the corporation as a whole, and a permanent representative body.
Special attention is given to the Conciliar Movement in which identity representation
played an important part, and to the first association of representation
through identity with the idea of authorisation in the thought of Nicholas
of Cues. The text looks into estate assemblies of German L舅der (provinces)
in the period prior to the French Revolution as an example of historic institutionalisation
of identity representation.
Keywords
representation; identity representation; Conciliarism; Nicholas of Cues; estate assemblies
Hrčak ID:
77809
URI
Publication date:
14.2.2012.
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