Constitutional Theory
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The Court on Conventions
Shameless self-promotion for my latest academic article Continue reading
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An Invitation
Can those who endorse “living tree” constitutional interpretation tell us why, and what it entails? Continue reading
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Arguing against Originalism Badly
Noura Karazivan’s flawed argument against using originalism to understand constitutional structure Continue reading
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Why I am Not a Conservative Either
Thoughts on Chief Justice Joyal’s very interesting speech on the Charter and Canada’s political culture Continue reading
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Too Conventional
The UK Supreme Court’s conventional, and indefensible, thinking on the issue of constitutional conventions Continue reading
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Erasing Constitutional White Spots
A critique of Vanessa MacDonnell’s theory of quasi-constitutional legislation One of my first posts on this blog dealt with the topic of quasi-constitutional rights and quasi-constitutional laws, in which such rights are mostly, although not exclusively, found. I have not really returned to that subject since, except in commenting on one case in which the Continue reading
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Where Is the Grass Greener?
In a recent article in Constitutional Forum, Peter Russell argues that Canada needs to imitate New Zealand by creating a Cabinet Manual that would, notably, contain an authoritative although not legally binding statement of the principal constitutional conventions, especially those that regulate the formation of governments. While this would, in prof. Russell’s view, have a Continue reading
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The Public Confidence Fairy
Public confidence in the courts cannot be the foundation of judicial independence Judicial independence is often justified, both in the decisions of the courts and in the broader public discourse, by the need to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice. It seems to me that this justification is not compelling. To borrow Paul Continue reading
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Why Do the Write Thing?
Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Andrew Butler, both of them former legal academics and current barristers, Sir Geoffrey having also served as Attorney-General and Prime Minister in between, are about to publish a book advocating that New Zealand enact a “written” constitution. They have also set up a Twitter account and a website to both promote the book and Continue reading
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Constraint and Candour
The case for a constrained judiciary ― but also candour about adjudication At the website of Advocates for the Rule of Law (ARL), Asher Honickman has posted a reply to my post here on “How to Do Constitutional Adjudication” (which was itself a reply to some of his arguments in a previous ARL essay making “The Continue reading
Double Aspect 