Download or read book Constitutionalism Human Rights Separation of Powers written by Georghios M. Pikis and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2006-08-01 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following 82 years of British rule, Cyprus emerged in 1960 as an independent state endowed with a written Constitution, detailed to the extent of making provision for nearly every aspect of government. Two distinct features of the Constitution are a) the incorporation of a comprehensive charter of human rights backed up by a duty cast on every authority of the State to ensure its efficient application and b) the strict separation between the three powers of the State. Another notable aspect of it is the introduction of judicial review of administrative action rendering justiciable every act, decision or omission of every organ, body or person exercising administrative or executive authority. The diversity of the sources of constitutional order, its detailed provisions about nearly every aspect of government convey a distinct complexion to the Constitution of the country. This book covers its application in the turbulent history of the island, which provides a singular if not a unique example of the sustenance of constitutional order in extreme circumstances; constitutionalism in full swing.
Download or read book Constitutionalism and the Separation of Powers written by M. J. C. Vile and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arguably no political principle has been more central than the separation of powers to the evolution of constitutional governance in Western democracies. In the definitive work on the subject, M. J. C. Vile traces the history of the doctrine from its rise during the English Civil War, through its development in the eighteenth century - when it was indispensable to the founders of the American republic - through subsequent political thought and constitution-making in Britain, France, and the United States. The author concludes with an examination of criticisms of the doctrine by both behavioralists and centralizers - and with "A Model of a Theory of Constitutionalism."
Download or read book The Evolution of the Separation of Powers written by David Bilchitz and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To what extent should the doctrine of the separation of powers evolve in light of recent shifts in constitutional design and practice? Constitutions now often include newer forms of rights – such as socioeconomic and environmental rights – and are written with an explicitly transformative purpose. They also often reflect include new independent bodies such as human rights commissions and electoral tribunals whose position and function within the traditional structure is novel. The practice of the separation of powers has also changed, as the executive has tended to gain power and deliberative bodies like legislatures have often been thrown into a state of crisis. The chapters in this edited volume grapple with these shifts and the ways in which the doctrine of the separation of powers might respond to them. It also asks whether the shifts that are taking place are mostly a product of the constitutional systems of the global south, or instead reflect changes that run across most liberal democratic constitutional systems around the world.
Download or read book The Constitution of Freedom written by András Sajó and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-11-04 with total page 606 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Constitutional democracy is more fragile and less 'natural' than autocracy. While this may sound surprising to complacent democrats, more and more people find autocracy attractive, because they were never forced to understand or imagine what despotism is. Generations who have lived in stable democracies with the promise that their enviable world will become the global 'normal' find government rule without constitutionalism difficult to conceive. It is difficult, but never too late, to see one's own constitutional system as something that is fragile, or up for grabs and in need of constant attention and care. In this book, Andras Sajo and Renata Uitz explore how constitutionalism protects us and how it might be undone by its own means. Sajo and Uitz's intellectual history of the constitutional ideal is rich in contextual detail and informed by case studies that give an overview of both the theory and practice of constitutionalism worldwide. Classic constitutions are contrasted with twentieth-century and contemporary endeavours, and experimentations in checks and balances. Their endeavour is neither apologetic (and certainly not celebratory), nor purely defensive: this book demonstrates why constitutionalism should continue to matter. Between the rise of populist, anti-constitutional sentiment and the normalization of the apparatus of counter-terrorism, it is imperative that the political communities who seek to sustain democracy as freedom understand the importance of constitutionalism. This book is essential reading for students of law and general readers without prior knowledge of the field, as well as those in politics who believe they know how government works. It shows what is at stake in the debate on constitutionalism.
Download or read book Separation of Powers in Practice written by Thomas Campbell and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Each branch of American government possesses inherent advantages and disadvantages in structure. In this book, the author relies on a separation-of-powers analysis that emphasizes the advantage of the legislature to draft precise words to fit intended situations, the judiciarys advantage of being able to do justice in an individual case, and the executives homogeneity and flexibility, which best suits it to decisions of an ad hoc nature. Identifying these structural abilities, the author analyzes major public policy issues, including gun control, flag burning, abortion, civil rights, war powers, suing the President, legislative veto, the exclusionary rule, and affirmative action. Each issue is examined not from the point of view of determining the right outcome, but with the intention of identifying the branch of government most appropriate for making the decision.
Download or read book The Three Branches written by Christoph Möllers and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-03-14 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea of the separation of powers is still popular in much political and constitutional discourse, though its meaning for the modern state remains unclear and contested. This book develops a new, comprehensive, and systematic account of the principle. It then applies this new concept to legal problems of different national constitutional orders, the law of the European Union, and international institutional law. It connects an argument from normative political theory with phenomena taken from comparative constitutional law. The book argues that the conflict between individual liberty and democratic self-determination that is characteristic of modern constitutionalism is proceduralized through the establishment of different governmental branches. A close analysis of the relation between individual and collective autonomy on the one hand and the ways lawmaking through public institutions can be established on the other hand helps us identify criteria for determining how legislative, administrative, and judicial lawmaking can be distinguished and should be organized. These criteria define a common ground in the confusing variety of western constitutional traditions and their diverse use of the notion of separated powers. They also enable us to establish a normative framework that throws a fresh perspective on problems of constitutional law in different constitutional systems: constitutional judicial review of legislation, limits of legislative delegation, parliamentary control of the executive, and standing. Linking arguments from comparative constitutional law and international law, the book then uses this framework to offer a new perspective on the debate on constitutionalism beyond the state. The concept permits certain institutional insights of the constitutional experiences within states to be applied at the international level without falling into any form of methodological nationalism.
Download or read book The Power of Separation written by Jessica Korn and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jessica Korn challenges the notion that the eighteenth-century principles underlying the American separation of powers system are incompatible with the demands of twentieth-century governance. She demostrates the continuing relevance of these principles by questioning the dominant scholarship on the legislative veto. As a short-cut through constitutional procedure invented in the 1930s and invalidated by the Supreme Court's Chadha decision in 1983, the legislative veto has long been presumed to have been a powerful mechanism of congressional oversight. Korn's analysis, however, shows that commentators have exaggerated the legislative veto's significance as a result of their incorrect assumption that the separation of powers was designed solely to check governmental authority. The Framers also designed constitutional structure to empower the new national government, institutionalizing a division of labor among the three branches in order to enhance the government's capacity. By examining the legislative vetoes governing the FTC, the Department of Education, and the president's authority to extend most-favored-nation trade status, Korn demonstrates how the powers that the Constitution grants to Congress made the legislative veto short-cut inconsequential to policymaking. These case studies also show that Chadha enhanced Congress's capacity to pass substantive laws while making it easier for Congress to preserve important discretionary powers in the executive branch. Thus, in debunking the myth of the legislative veto, Korn restores an appreciation of the enduring vitality of the American constitutional order.
Download or read book Separating Powers International Law before National Courts written by David Haljan and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-10-30 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The more international law, taken as a global answer to global problems, intrudes into domestic legal systems, the more it takes on the role and function of domestic law. This raises a separation of powers question regarding law–making powers. This book considers that specific issue. In contrast to other studies on domestic courts applying international law, its constitutional orientation focuses on the presumptions concerning the distribution of state power. It collects and examines relevant decisions regarding treaties and customary international law from four leading legal systems, the US, the UK, France, and the Netherlands. Those decisions reveal that institutional and conceptual allegiances to constitutional structures render it difficult for courts to see their mandates and powers in terms other than exclusively national. Constitutionalism generates an inevitable dualism between international law and national law, one which cannot necessarily be overcome by express constitutional provisions accommodating international law. Valuable for academics and practitioners in the fields of international and constitutional law.
Download or read book Strong Constitutions written by Maxwell A. Cameron and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-06-01 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The separation of powers is an idea with ancient origins, but nowadays it is often relegated to legal doctrine, public philosophy, or the history of ideas. Yet the concept is often evoked in debates on the "war" on terrorism, the use of emergency powers, or constitutional reform. So it is surprising that there have been few attempts to place the study of the separation of powers on a social scientific footing. To that end, this book makes a bold conjecture. It argues that the separation of powers emerged with the spread of literacy, became a central part of constitutional thought in the context of the Gutenberg revolution, and faces unprecedented challenges in our current era of electronic communication. The separation of powers is linked to social-cognitive changes associated with evolving media of communication. The essence of the argument is that constitutional states use texts to coordinate collective action, and they do so by creating governmental agencies with specific jurisdiction and competence over distinct types of power. The first, and most familiar to students of political science since Max Weber, is the power to make decisions backed by legally sanctioned coercion. Cameron highlights two other forms of power: the deliberative power to make procedurally legitimate laws, and the judicial power to interpret and apply laws in particular circumstances. The division of government into three such branches enables state officials and citizens to use written texts-legal codes and documents, including constitutions-along with unwritten rules and conventions to coordinate their activities on larger scales and over longer time horizons. Cameron argues that constitutional states are not weaker because their powers are divided. They are often stronger because they solve collective action problems rooted in speech and communication. The book is a must read for anyone interested in the separation of powers, its origin, evolution, and consequences.
Download or read book The Separation of Powers in the Contemporary Constitution written by Roger Masterman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-12-02 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this 2010 book, Roger Masterman examines the dividing lines between the powers of the judicial branch of government and those of the executive and legislative branches in the light of two of the most significant constitutional reforms of recent years: the Human Rights Act (1998) and Constitutional Reform Act (2005). Both statutes have implications for the separation of powers within the United Kingdom constitution. The Human Rights Act brings the judges into much closer proximity with the decisions of political actors than previously permitted by the Wednesbury standard of review and the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, while the Constitutional Reform Act marks the emergence of an institutionally independent judicial branch. Taken together, the two legislative schemes form the backbone of a more comprehensive system of constitutional checks and balances policed by a judicial branch underpinned by the legitimacy of institutional independence.
Download or read book Where Our Protection Lies written by Dimitrios Kyritsis and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book Dimitrios Kyritsis advances an original account of constitutional review of primary legislation for its compatibility with human rights. Key to it is the value of separation of powers. When the relationship between courts and the legislature realizes this value, it makes a stronger claim to moral legitimacy. Kyritsis steers a path between the two extremes of the sceptics and the enthusiasts. Against sceptics who claim that constitutional review is an affront to democracy he argues that it is a morally legitimate institutional option for democratic societies because it can provide an effective check on the legislature. Although the latter represents the people and should thus be given the initiative in designing government policy, it carries serious risks, which institutional design must seek to avert. Against enthusiasts he maintains that fundamental rights protection is not the exclusive province of courts but the responsibility of both the judiciary and the legislature. Although courts may sometimes be given the power to scrutinize legislation and even strike it down, if it violates human rights, they must also respect the legislature's important contribution to their joint project. Occasionally, they may even have a duty to defer to morally sub-optimal decisions, as far as rights protection is concerned. This is as it should be. Legitimacy demands less than the ideal. In turn, citizens ought to accept discounts on perfect justice for the sake of achieving a reasonably just and effective political order overall.
Download or read book The Spirit of Laws written by Charles de Secondat baron de Montesquieu and published by . This book was released on 1886 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Constitutionalism and Human Rights written by Kenneth W. Thompson and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A bicentennial colloquium at the Miller Center."--T.p.
Download or read book Constitutionalism and the Role of Parliaments written by Katja S Ziegler and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2007-06-07 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern constitutionalism has put a lot of hopes in parliaments but there is some consensus that these hopes have not been entirely fulfilled. At the same time, the role of parliaments in contemporary democracies continues to evolve as parliaments are faced with new challenges. How should they react to the new forms of executive and administrative action? Should they play a role in upholding judicial independence, although the latter is frequently seen as independence from parliament as well as the executive? How should they contribute to the protection of fundamental rights? The book aims at providing some answers to these questions by first setting the historic scene, giving a comparative overview of the modern history of a selection of major European deliberative institutions (UK, France, Germany and the European Parliament). The book then looks at themes around the doctrine of separation of powers, especially aspects of the relationship between parliament and the executive power and parliaments' role and attitude regarding the judiciary with a special focus on the independence of the judiciary in a comparative perspective.
Download or read book Division of Power Continuity and Change written by Marcin Romanowski and published by Wydawnictwo Instytutu Wymiaru Sprawiedliwości. This book was released on with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The separation of powers doctrine is undoubtedly one of the key principles of contemporary constitutionalism. Despite this, it has not been framed into a single, homogeneous, and thus universal form. The abundance of approaches and nuances found in legal and political doctrine makes it an extremely labile and meandering concept, which can take on a variety of shapes. Its legislative articulation is by no means uniform, and thus reproducible, either. The separation of powers in constitutional law is therefore expressed in a broad array of formulas, sometimes explicitly, sometimes implicitly. In addition, it can take on a classic, almost model form, or it can be shaped in a significantly altered manner compared to what we used to call its model […] …the dispersion of ideas about what the separation of powers is, where it originates or how to best frame and apply it in legislation and practice does not deprive the separation of powers of the nature of a timeless general notion that underlies the very concept of the division of power. After all, the impulse to formulate the assumptions for the separation of powers was in each case triggered by the desire to eliminate the vesting of unlimited or excessive power in an individual or a narrow, oligarchised group. Therefore, its essence and also the main advantage is, first of all, protection against the despotism of power, which translates into the specific benefit of consolidation of institutional guarantees of civil rights and liberties through the attribution of individual power functions to different branches of government, and then their clear separation”. MARCIN ROMANOWSKI, Separation of Powers: Meanders of Doctrine and Legislation
Download or read book Constitutional Law Constitutionalism and Democracy written by Nicholas Sunday and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2013-05-02 with total page 53 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2013 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, , language: English, abstract: Constitutionalism form the core of good government in the modern democratic world to check on the powers of the different organs of government and the protection of liberty and fundamental rights of individuals within that sovereign territory. All efforts are made by the developed and the developing countries in upholding the rule of law, which are quaranteed through the constitution, to promote democracy for a just and fair society. However, good the notion of the constitution is, there are different definitions applied by different stakeholders on the notion of what forms a good democratic polity and good constitution and constitutionalism. It is against this background that an elaborate research has been conducted by the author of the subject matter as part of the requirement in the award of Doctor of Juridical Science
Download or read book Political Constitutionalism written by Richard Bellamy and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-09-13 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
