The Law And Parliament

A starting point for the study of the English Constitution and comparative constitutional law, The Law of the Constitution elucidates the guiding principles of the modern constitution of England: the legislative sovereignty of Parliament, the rule of law, and the binding force of unwritten conventions.

Although the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is twenty years old, little is known about how it affects those who wield power, what influence it has on legislative decisions, or to what extent the government believes it should be constrained by Charter concerns. For most laws Parliament has the final word on how social policy is balanced against protected rights. Thus the extent to which legislation is sensitive towards rights depends on how those who develop, propose, and assess policy view the Charter. How influential are governmental legal advisors? How risk averse or risk tolerant are government ministers when pursuing legislative goals that may result in Charter challenges? How capable is Parliament in requiring government to justify and explain legislative choices that may impair rights? In Charter Conflicts Janet Hiebert examines these questions while analyzing the Charter's influence on controversial legislative decisions such as social benefits for lesbians and gay men, the regulation of tobacco advertising, the rules of evidence for sexual assault trials, the use of DNA for law enforcement purposes, and the rules for police searches of private residences. She questions the broadly held assumption that only courts are capable of respecting rights, arguing that Parliament shares responsibility with the judiciary for resolving Charter conflicts. She views the Charter's significance less in terms of the judiciary overruling Parliament than in the incentives and pressures it provides for public and political officials to satisfy themselves that legislation is consistent with protected rights.

Written by members of the Study of Parliament Group, this collection of essays on the law and parliament deals with subjects such as the Nolan Report, devolution and an examination of the historical relationship between Parliament and European Human Rights law.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The third edition of Parliament and the Law presents a timely and valuable resource covering recent developments. Brexit, the #MeToo movement, and the COVID-19 pandemic all presented Parliament with a series of challenges. This edition includes new chapters on Brexit, legislation and scrutiny, the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster treaty scrutiny, votes of confidence and the Fixed Term Parliament Act, and the financing of Parliament. This is a multi-disciplinary work authored by lawyers, political scientists, parliamentary officials, and practitioners and is supported by the Study of Parliament Group (SPG).

Sir Edward Coke remains one of the most important figures in the history of the common law. The essays collected in this volume provide a broad context for understanding and appreciating the scope of Coke's achievement: his theory of law, his work as a lawyer and a judge, his role in pioneering judicial review, his leadership of the Commons, and his place in the broader culture of Elizabethan and Jacobean England. Sir Edward Coke claimed for judges the power to strike down statutes, created the modern common law by reshaping medieval precedents, and, in the House of Commons, led the gathering forces that would ultimately establish a constitutional regime of ordered liberty and responsible, representative government. Although much has been written on Coke, there has been no single adequate study or collection of these writings until now. Law, Liberty, and Parliament brings together material that not only is useful for understanding Coke's career and achievement but also illuminates the late Elizabethan and early Stuart periods in which the common law became inextricably identified with constitutional authority. Allen D. Boyer, author of Sir Edward Coke and the Elizabethan Age, is a lawyer in New York City and a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review. Dr. Boyer serves on the advisory board of the Yale Center for Parliamentary History.