Constitutionalising Secession proceeds from the question, "What, if anything, does the law have to say about a secession crisis?" But, rather than approaching secession through the optic of political or nationalist institutional accommodation, this book focuses on the underpinnings to a constitutional order as a law-making community, underpinnings laid bare by secession pressures. Relying on the corrosive effects of secession, the book explores the deep structure of a constitutional order and the motivating forces creating and sustaining that order. A core idea is that the normativity of law...

There are now a number of statutes in different parts of the world that offer non-constitutional protection for human rights through certain mechanisms, such as strong interpretive obligations, quasi-tort actions, and obligations on legislatures to consider whether statutes are felt to breach human rights obligations. These mechanisms exist in New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, and Victoria. This book considers the jurisprudence that has developed in these various jurisdictions relating to these mechanics for the promotion of human rights. Relevant case laws from...

In the domain of comparative constitutionalism, Israeli constitutional law is a fascinating case-study constituted by many dilemmas. It is moving from the old British tradition of an unwritten constitution and no judicial review of legislation to fully-fledged constitutionalism endorsing judicial review and based on the text of a series of basic laws. At the same time, it is struggling with major questions of identity, in the context of Israel's constitutional vision of 'a Jewish and Democratic' State. Israeli Constitutional Law in the Making offers a comprehensive study of Israeli...

Why do judges study legal sources which originated outside their own national legal system, and how do they use arguments from these sources in deciding domestic cases? Based on interviews with judges, this book presents the inside story of how judges engage with international and comparative law in the highest courts of the US, Canada, the UK, France, and the Netherlands. A comparative analysis of the views and experiences of the judges clarifies how the decision-making of these Western courts has developed in light of the internationalization of law and the increased opportunities for...

In 2007, the International Association of Constitutional Law established an Interest Group on 'The Use of Foreign Precedents by Constitutional Judges, ' to conduct a survey of the use of foreign precedents by Supreme and Constitutional Courts in deciding constitutional cases. Its purpose was to determine - through empirical analysis employing both quantitative and qualitative indicators - the extent to which foreign case law is cited. The survey aimed to test the reliability of studies describing and reporting instances of transjudicial communication between Courts. The research also provides...

This is the first volume to unite theoretical and practical insights into the protection of human rights by legislatures from a number of domestic jurisdictions, international organizations, and leading scholars. In doing so, it presents a complete picture of the parliamentary protection of human rights, which will interest both academic scholars and practitioners. Specifically, the book contains contributions that analyze the processes of legislative protection of human rights from jurisdictions in Britain, Europe, and Australasia. It also contains a study on the role of the Council of...

The jury has been criticised as irrational and undemocratic and in recent times has received only lukewarm support from senior members of the English judiciary. However, trial by jury can have an important legitimating function as a political institution. A 'right' to jury trial is however inherently vulnerable: rights discourse encourages the balancing of the jury against the right of the accused to a fair trial. Such an approach is used to justify the abolition of jury trial in the terrorism context. Retaining juries in terrorism trials is important not because trial by jury is a 'right'...

Inspired by the work of Professor Michael Taggart, this collection of essays from across the common law world is concerned with two separate but related themes. First, to what extent and by what means should review on substantive grounds, such as unreasonableness, be expanded and intensified? Jowell, Elliott, and Varuhas all agree with Taggart that proportionality should not 'sweep the rainbow, ' but propose different schemes for organizing and conceptualizing substantive review. Groves and Weeks, and Hoexter evaluate the state of substantive review in Australia and South Africa respectively....

This volume arises from the inaugural Public Law Conference hosted in September 2014 by the Centre for Public Law at the University of Cambridge, which brought together leading public lawyers from different common law jurisdictions, providing for the first time a comparative analysis of process and substance in public law adjudication in common law systems. While those from common law jurisdictions share background understandings, significant differences between such systems create opportunities for valuable exchanges of ideas and debate. The majority of the chapters consider topical issues...

In legal decisions and commentary, freedom of assembly is widely cherished as a precious human right and as indispensable for the preservation of democratic governance. But, despite this rhetoric, assemblies are subject to extensive regulation, such as prior restraints and restrictions on the time, place, and manner of assemblies. This comparative study examines five influential jurisdictions and reveals similarities and inconsistencies between them. It finds that freedom of assembly is often subjugated to freedom of expression in a way that disregards the expressive potential of assemblies....