Caribbean Constitutional Reform

Caribbean Constitutional Reform PDF Author: Simeon C. R. McIntosh
Publisher: Ian Randle Publishers
ISBN: 9789768167286
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"This is the first book to be written on Caribbean constitutional theory. In the continuing discourse and emergent project of constitutional reform in the Commonwealth Caribbean, it examines the origins of the Independence Constitutions across the Commonwealth Caribbean and traces the region's constitutional development from the time of the emancipation of slavery through to independence. At its core is the premise that constitutional reform must necessarily result in a redefining of West Indian political identity. The theme throughout the book is the fact that the written constitutions of the Caribbean all have their origin in the British Parliament and the unwritten English constitution that has evolved over centuries. The existing constitutions were all the result of the collaborative efforts of the region's political elite and British officials, with no participation from the West Indian people. The Crown is still claimed and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council remains the final appellate court. In the result, political independence has simply meant that the countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean are independent subjects of the Crown rather than colonial subjects. The book begins with the process of 'lawful devolution of sovereignty' and the origins of the sovereign states of the Commonwealth Caribbean and proceeds to address the theoretical issues of founding and amendability as well as such pressing issues about the relationship between a prime minister and a head of state in a parliamentary republic and electoral reform. An entire chapter is devoted to the Bill of Rights and addresses the fundamental rights and freedoms preserved in Caribbean Bills of Rights as well as the controversial and paradoxical Savings Clauses, which in and of themselves might justify the rewriting of the fundamental rights provisions of Commonwealth Caribbean Constitutions. Caribbean Constitutional Reform offers a philosophical justification for the establishment of a Caribbean Supreme Court based on the idea of sovereignty and the right of a people to define themselves. This work makes the first definitive step to addressing these critical issues in Caribbean constitutional theory and sets the stage for a 'new constitutional discourse' shaped by a Caribbean court of final appeal. "

Caribbean Constitutional Reform

Caribbean Constitutional Reform PDF Author: Simeon C. R. McIntosh
Publisher: Ian Randle Publishers
ISBN: 9789768167286
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
"This is the first book to be written on Caribbean constitutional theory. In the continuing discourse and emergent project of constitutional reform in the Commonwealth Caribbean, it examines the origins of the Independence Constitutions across the Commonwealth Caribbean and traces the region's constitutional development from the time of the emancipation of slavery through to independence. At its core is the premise that constitutional reform must necessarily result in a redefining of West Indian political identity. The theme throughout the book is the fact that the written constitutions of the Caribbean all have their origin in the British Parliament and the unwritten English constitution that has evolved over centuries. The existing constitutions were all the result of the collaborative efforts of the region's political elite and British officials, with no participation from the West Indian people. The Crown is still claimed and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council remains the final appellate court. In the result, political independence has simply meant that the countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean are independent subjects of the Crown rather than colonial subjects. The book begins with the process of 'lawful devolution of sovereignty' and the origins of the sovereign states of the Commonwealth Caribbean and proceeds to address the theoretical issues of founding and amendability as well as such pressing issues about the relationship between a prime minister and a head of state in a parliamentary republic and electoral reform. An entire chapter is devoted to the Bill of Rights and addresses the fundamental rights and freedoms preserved in Caribbean Bills of Rights as well as the controversial and paradoxical Savings Clauses, which in and of themselves might justify the rewriting of the fundamental rights provisions of Commonwealth Caribbean Constitutions. Caribbean Constitutional Reform offers a philosophical justification for the establishment of a Caribbean Supreme Court based on the idea of sovereignty and the right of a people to define themselves. This work makes the first definitive step to addressing these critical issues in Caribbean constitutional theory and sets the stage for a 'new constitutional discourse' shaped by a Caribbean court of final appeal. "

The Crown and Constitutional Reform

The Crown and Constitutional Reform PDF Author: Cris Shore
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000169189
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
The Crown and Constitutional Reform is an innovative, interdisciplinary exchange between experts in law, anthropology and politics about the Crown, constitutional monarchy and the potential for constitutional reform in Commonwealth common law countries. The constitutional foundation of many Commonwealth countries is the Crown, an icon of ultimate authority, at once familiar yet curiously enigmatic. Is it a conceptual placeholder for the state, a symbol of sovereignty or does its ambiguity make it a shapeshifter, a legal fiction that can be deployed as an expedient mask for executive power and convenient instrument for undermining democratic accountability? This volume offers a novel, interdisciplinary exchange: the contributors analyse how the Crown operates in the United Kingdom and the postcolonial settler societies of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In doing so, they examine fundamental theoretical questions about statehood, sovereignty, constitutionalism and postcolonial reconciliation. As Queen Elizabeth II’s long reign approaches its end, questions about the Crown’s future, its changing forms and meanings, the continuing value of constitutional monarchy and its potential for reform, gain fresh urgency. The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue of The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs.

The Shapeshifting Crown

The Shapeshifting Crown PDF Author: Cris Shore
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108496466
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
The Crown is the bedrock of Westminster-style democracies, yet its meanings, powers and effects are opaque and little understood.

Constitutional Change in the UK

Constitutional Change in the UK PDF Author: Nigel Forman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134581734
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
The years since New Labour came to power in 1997 have seen changes to the British institutions of political power on an unprecedented scale. The reforms have been widespread, ranging from devolution of power in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to the reform of the House of Lords and the changing role of the Monarchy. This book is the first to examine these changes collectively and in detail, placing each in its historical context, analysing problems, solutions and what the future holds for this ambitious period of reforms. The book is comprehensive in coverage, and accessibly written. As such it should be the ideal resource for undergraduate students of British Politics seeking to make sense of this complex subject.

Constitutional Reform

Constitutional Reform PDF Author: Rodney Brazier
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780198765233
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 197

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Book Description
The second edition of Constitutional Reform examines central government, Parliament, and the judiciary in Britain and proposes an agenda for reform. The stress remains on suggestions which might stand a fair chance of being implemented. Topics covered include the limitations on the scope forconstitutional reform; new methodology for constitutional change; parliamentary democracy and voting reform; the second chamber; the reduction of ministerial power; the transfer of certain royal powers to Parliament; and the reform of the judiciary.Also including a new chapter on the Labour Government's plans for the British constitution, this book provides the reader with comprehensive coverage of constitutional change in Britain at the new millennium.

Towards Juristocracy

Towards Juristocracy PDF Author: Ran Hirschl
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674038677
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
In countries and supranational entities around the globe, constitutional reform has transferred an unprecedented amount of power from representative institutions to judiciaries. The constitutionalization of rights and the establishment of judicial review are widely believed to have benevolent and progressive origins, and significant redistributive, power-diffusing consequences. Ran Hirschl challenges this conventional wisdom. Drawing upon a comprehensive comparative inquiry into the political origins and legal consequences of the recent constitutional revolutions in Canada, Israel, New Zealand, and South Africa, Hirschl shows that the trend toward constitutionalization is hardly driven by politicians' genuine commitment to democracy, social justice, or universal rights. Rather, it is best understood as the product of a strategic interplay among hegemonic yet threatened political elites, influential economic stakeholders, and judicial leaders. This self-interested coalition of legal innovators determines the timing, extent, and nature of constitutional reforms. Hirschl demonstrates that whereas judicial empowerment through constitutionalization has a limited impact on advancing progressive notions of distributive justice, it has a transformative effect on political discourse. The global trend toward juristocracy, Hirschl argues, is part of a broader process whereby political and economic elites, while they profess support for democracy and sustained development, attempt to insulate policymaking from the vicissitudes of democratic politics.

Viceregalism

Viceregalism PDF Author: H. Kumarasingham
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030462838
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
This book examines how the Crown has performed as Head of State across the UK and post war Commonwealth during times of political crisis. It explores the little-known relationships, powers and imperial legacies regarding modern heads of state in parliamentary regimes where so many decisions occur without parliamentary or public scrutiny. This original study highlights how the Queen’s position has been replicated across continents with surprising results. It also shows the topicality and contemporary relevance of this historical research to interpret and understand crises of governance and the enduring legacy of monarchy and colonialism to modern politics. This collection uniquely brings together a diverse set of states including specific chapters on England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Brunei, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe/Rhodesia, Australia, Tuvalu, and the Commonwealth Caribbean. Viceregalism is written and conceptualised to remind that the Crown is not just a ceremonial part of the constitution, but a crucial political and international actor of real importance.

The Nature of the Crown

The Nature of the Crown PDF Author: Maurice Sunkin
Publisher: Clarendon Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
This book explores the nature of the Crown in its legal and political context. Here, the term The Crown is being used, not as a direct reference to the Queen, but as a reference to the central power of the State which exercises legal and political authority. Since the Crown has not been the object of extensive literature with pride of place on constitutional law courses, this book aims to redress this state of affairs by drawing together essays that explore what the Crown is, or might be, and the critical issues relating to it.

The Monarchy and the Constitution

The Monarchy and the Constitution PDF Author: Vernon Bogdanor
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198277695
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
In the increasingly questioning world of the 1990s, the role of the monarchy in a democracy is again coming under scrutiny. Its critics argue that the monarchy is a profoundly conservative institution which serves to inhibit social change; that it has outlived its usefulness; that it symbolizes and reinforces deference and hierachy; and that its radical reform is therefore long overdue.Rejecting these arguments Vernon Bogdanor makes a powerful case for the positive role that monarchy plays in modern democratic politics. Ranging across law, politics, and history he argues that far from undermining democracy, the monarchy sustains and strengthens democratic institutions; that constitutional monarchy is a form of government that ensures not conservatism but legitimacy.The first serious examination of the political role of the monarchy to appear in many years, this book will make fascinating reading for all those interested in the monarchy and the future of British politics.

The Once and Future King

The Once and Future King PDF Author: F. H. Buckley
Publisher: Encounter Books
ISBN: 1594037949
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
This remarkable book shatters just about every myth surrounding American government, the Constitution, and the Founding Fathers, and offers the clearest warning about the alarming rise of one-man rule in the age of Obama. Most Americans believe that this country uniquely protects liberty, that it does so because of its Constitution, and that for this our thanks must go to the Founders, at their Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. F. H. Buckley’s book debunks all these myths. America isn’t the freest country around, according to the think tanks that study these things. And it’s not the Constitution that made it free, since parliamentary regimes are generally freer than presidential ones. Finally, what we think of as the Constitution, with its separation of powers, was not what the Founders had in mind. What they expected was a country in which Congress would dominate the government, and in which the president would play a much smaller role. Sadly, that’s not the government we have today. What we have instead is what Buckley calls Crown government: the rule of an all-powerful president. The country began in a revolt against one king, and today we see the dawn of a new kind of monarchy. What we have is what Founder George Mason called an “elective monarchy,” which he thought would be worse than the real thing. Much of this is irreversible. Constitutional amendments to redress the balance of power are extremely unlikely, and most Americans seem to have accepted, and even welcomed, Crown government. The way back lies through Congress, and Buckley suggests feasible reforms that it might adopt, to regain the authority and respect it has squandered.