Judges as Guardians of Constitutionalism and Human Rights

Judges as Guardians of Constitutionalism and Human Rights

Author: Martin Scheinin

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2016-04-29

Total Pages: 397

ISBN-13: 178536586X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

There are many challenges that national and supranational judges have to face when fulfilling their roles as guardians of constitutionalism and human rights. This book brings together academics and judges from different jurisdictions in an endeavour to uncover the intricacies of the judicial function. The contributors discuss several points that each represent contemporary challenges to judging: analysis of judicial balancing of conflicting considerations; the nature of courts’ legitimacy and its alleged dependence on public support; the role of judges in upholding constitutional values in the times of transition to democracy, surveillance and the fight against terrorism; and the role of international judges in guaranteeing globally recognized fundamental rights and freedoms. This book will be of interest to human rights scholars focusing on the issues of judicial oversight, as well as constitutional law scholars interested in comparative perspectives on the role of judges in different contexts. It will also be useful to national constitutional court judges, and law clerks aiming to familiarise themselves with judicial practices within other jurisdictions.


Constitutional Justice

Constitutional Justice

Author: Trevor R. S. Allan

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 9780199267880

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Scope of Judicial Review


Keeping Faith with the Constitution

Keeping Faith with the Constitution

Author: Goodwin Liu

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2010-08-05

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0199752834

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Chief Justice John Marshall argued that a constitution "requires that only its great outlines should be marked [and] its important objects designated." Ours is "intended to endure for ages to come, and consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs." In recent years, Marshall's great truths have been challenged by proponents of originalism and strict construction. Such legal thinkers as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia argue that the Constitution must be construed and applied as it was when the Framers wrote it. In Keeping Faith with the Constitution, three legal authorities make the case for Marshall's vision. They describe their approach as "constitutional fidelity"--not to how the Framers would have applied the Constitution, but to the text and principles of the Constitution itself. The original understanding of the text is one source of interpretation, but not the only one; to preserve the meaning and authority of the document, to keep it vital, applications of the Constitution must be shaped by precedent, historical experience, practical consequence, and societal change. The authors range across the history of constitutional interpretation to show how this approach has been the source of our greatest advances, from Brown v. Board of Education to the New Deal, from the Miranda decision to the expansion of women's rights. They delve into the complexities of voting rights, the malapportionment of legislative districts, speech freedoms, civil liberties and the War on Terror, and the evolution of checks and balances. The Constitution's framers could never have imagined DNA, global warming, or even women's equality. Yet these and many more realities shape our lives and outlook. Our Constitution will remain vital into our changing future, the authors write, if judges remain true to this rich tradition of adaptation and fidelity.


Political Constitutionalism

Political Constitutionalism

Author: Richard Bellamy

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2007-09-13

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 1139467913

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Judicial review by constitutional courts is often presented as a necessary supplement to democracy. This book questions its effectiveness and legitimacy. Drawing on the republican tradition, Richard Bellamy argues that the democratic mechanisms of open elections between competing parties and decision-making by majority rule offer superior and sufficient methods for upholding rights and the rule of law. The absence of popular accountability renders judicial review a form of arbitrary rule which lacks the incentive structure democracy provides to ensure rulers treat the ruled with equal concern and respect. Rights based judicial review undermines the constitutionality of democracy. Its counter-majoritarian bias promotes privileged against unprivileged minorities, while its legalism and focus on individual cases distort public debate. Rather than constraining democracy with written constitutions and greater judicial oversight, attention should be paid to improving democratic processes through such measures as reformed electoral systems and enhanced parliamentary scrutiny.


Perils of Judicial Self-Government in Transitional Societies

Perils of Judicial Self-Government in Transitional Societies

Author: David Kosař

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-04

Total Pages: 487

ISBN-13: 1107112125

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book investigates the mechanisms of judicial control to determine an efficient methodology for independence and accountability. Using over 800 case studies from the Czech and Slovak disciplinary courts, the author creates a theoretical framework that can be applied to future case studies and decrease the frequency of accountability perversions.


The Rights Revolution

The Rights Revolution

Author: Charles R. Epp

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 1998-10-15

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 9780226211626

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

List of Tables and FiguresAcknowledgments1: Introduction 2: The Conditions for the Rights Revolution: Theory 3: The United States: Standard Explanations for the Rights Revolution 4: The Support Structure and the U.S. Rights Revolution 5: India: An Ideal Environment for a Rights Revolution? 6: India's Weak Rights Revolution and Its Handicap 7: Britain: An Inhospitable Environment for a Rights Revolution? 8: Britain's Modest Rights Revolution and Its Sources 9: Canada: A Great Experiment in Constitutional Engineering 10: Canada's Dramatic Rights Revolution and Its Sources 11: Conclusion: Constitutionalism, Judicial Power, and Rights App: Selected Constitutional or Quasi-Constitutional Rights Provisions for the United States, India, Britain, and Canada Notes Bibliography Index Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.


Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law

Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law

Author: Maurice Adams

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-02-02

Total Pages: 559

ISBN-13: 1316883256

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Rule of law and constitutionalist ideals are understood by many, if not most, as necessary to create a just political order. Defying the traditional division between normative and positive theoretical approaches, this book explores how political reality on the one hand, and constitutional ideals on the other, mutually inform and influence each other. Seventeen chapters from leading international scholars cover a diverse range of topics and case studies to test the hypothesis that the best normative theories, including those regarding the role of constitutions, constitutionalism and the rule of law, conceive of the ideal and the real as mutually regulating.


Towering Judges

Towering Judges

Author: Rehan Abeyratne

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-03-25

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1108840213

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This first-of-its-kind volume surveys twenty constitutional judges who 'towered' over their peers, exploring their complexities and flaws.


Judicial Dialogue and Human Rights

Judicial Dialogue and Human Rights

Author: Amrei Müller

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-05-25

Total Pages: 641

ISBN-13: 1107173582

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A comprehensive analysis of the extent, method, purpose and effects of domestic and international courts' judicial dialogue on human rights.


Definition and Development of Human Rights and Popular Sovereignty in Europe

Definition and Development of Human Rights and Popular Sovereignty in Europe

Author: European Commission for Democracy through Law

Publisher: Council of Europe

Published: 2011-01-01

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 9789287171344

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

What role do the people play in defining and developing human rights? This volume explores the very topical issue of the lack of democratic legitimisation of national and international courts and the question of whether rendering the original process of defining human rights more democratic at the national and international level would improve the degree of protection they afford. The authors venture to raise the crucial question: When can a democratic society be considered to be mature enough so as to be trusted to provide its own definition of human rights obligations?