Originalism

Originalism is a method of constitutional and statutory interpretation. Originalists assert that legal text should be interpreted based on the original understanding at the time of adoption. Originalists object to the idea of the significant legal evolution being driven by judges in a common law framework and instead favor modifications of laws through the Legislature or through Constitutional amendment.

The term was coined in 1980 and the concept became popular in U.S. conservative legal circles by the 1990s. Originalism nevertheless remains particularly unpopular in many democracies, with the ideology only gaining traction in the West in the United States and, to a lesser extent, Australia. David Fontana argues in the Texas Law Review that originalism has more adherents in countries that underwent revolutions, especially those in Latin America and Africa. Critics of originalism often turn to the competing concept of the Living Constitution, which asserts that a constitution should be interpreted based on the context of current times.

"Originalism" can refer to original intent or original meaning. The divisions between the theories relate to what exactly that identifiable original intent or original meaning is: the intentions of the authors or the ratifiers, the original meaning of the text, a combination of the two, or the original meaning of the text but not its expected application. Originalism should not be confused with strict constructionism.