Constitutional Law In Theory And Practice

A comprehensive introduction to constitutional law, accessible to non- specialists as well as students of law and political science. Beatty (law, U. of Toronto) reviews the leading cases that have come before the Privy Council and the Supreme Court of Canada concerning the BNA Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He also reviews important decisions made by courts around the world, and analyzes the function judges perform in liberal-democratic societies when they enforce written constitutions that include bills of rights. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

David Beatty draws on more than twenty years' teaching experience to produce a comprehensive introduction to the basic rules in constitutional law, accessible to law and non-law students alike. He reviews the leading cases handed down by the Supreme Court of Canada and the Privy Council concerning the original BNA Act of 1867 and the Canadian Charter of Rights enacted in 1982. As well, Beatty reviews many of the most important decisions made by other courts around the world and analyses the function judges and courts perform in liberal democratic societies when they enforce written constitutions including bills of rights. The initial chapter introduces the reader to the subject of constitutional law – what it is all about, what its function is, and how it interacts with the constitutional text. The book goes on to examine Canadian federalism law and the Supreme Court of Canada's experience in the first decade in the life of the Charter of Rights. Beatty also examines significant human rights cases decided by the major courts around the world, in order to illustrate how the same principles and methods of reasoning are used to resolve disputes about the validity of laws no matter what the issue is or where it arises. The book concludes by showing how a theory of constitutional law which emphasizes the social duties which politicians must respect rather than individual rights should be responsive to the concerns of those who are more sceptical about the virtues of law and the courts as well as those who fear the cultural imperialism of western legal concepts. Beatty proposes a radically new way to think about the idea of ‘rights,’ one which emphasizes the social duties that are inherent in every conception of rights. The book argues that by reorienting our thinking about what rights and the rule of law are all about, it is easier to see that rather than being in conflict or tension with each other, democratic decision making and judicial review are supportive of a common set of values and ideals.

Chapter 1 introduces constitutional law - what it is all about, what its function is, and how it interacts with the constitutional text. The book examines Canadian federalism law and the Supreme Court of Canada's experience with the Charter of Rights. It also looks at significant human rights cases decided by major courts around the world, showing how the same principles and methods of reasoning are used elsewhere to resolve legal disputes. The author concludes that a theory of constitutional law that puts greater emphasis on the social duties politicians must respect than on individual rights should be responsive to the concerns of both those who are sceptical about the virtues of law and the courts and those who fear Western cultural imperialism.

Offers a public law theory that elaborates the idea of human dignity to illuminate and justify innovations in constitutional practice.

At the heart of constitutional interpretation is the struggle between, on the one hand, fidelity to founding meanings, and, on the other hand, creative interpretation to suit the context and needs of an evolving society. This book considers the recent growth of constitutional cases in Singapore in the last ten years. It examines the underpinnings of Singapore’s constitutional system, explores how Singapore courts have dealt with issues related to rights and power, and sets developments in Singapore in the wider context of new thinking and constitutional developments worldwide. It argues that Singapore is witnessing a shift in legal and political culture as both judges and citizens display an increasing willingness to engage with constitutional ideas and norms.

In The Rule of Law, Justice, and Interpretation Luc Tremblay analyses and refutes the positivist legal theory that prevails in Canadian constitutional practice. Using the techniques of critical theory, hermeneutic interpretation, and analytical jurisprudence he shows that the dominant interpretations of the central legal doctrines of the rule of law and the sovereignty of Parliament are incoherent. The analysis opens the way for the construction of a bold alternative theory of legal discourse and practice based on the concept of the rule of law itself.

An increasing number of constitutional theorists, within both the legal academy and university departments of government, are focusing on the conceptual and political problems attached to the notion of constitutional amendment. Amendments are, among other things, recognitions of the imperfection of existing schemes of government. The relative ease or difficulty of amendment has significant implications for the ways that governments respond to problems that call either for new structures of governance or new powers for already established structures. This book brings together essays by leading legal authorities and political scientists on a range of questions from whether the U.S. Constitution is subject to amendment by procedures other than those authorized by Article V to how significant change is conceptualized within classical rabbinic Judaism. Though the essays are concerned for the most part with the American experience, other constitutional traditions are considered as well. The contributors include Bruce Ackerman, Akhil Reed Amar, Mark E. Brandon, David R. Dow, Stephen M. Griffin, Stephen Holmes and Cass R. Sunstein, Sanford Levinson, Donald Lutz, Walter Murphy, Frederick Schauer, John R. Vile, and Noam J. Zohar.