Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Institution
Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in Law
Fruit Of The Poisoned Vine? Some Comparative Observations On Chile’S Constitution, Tom Ginsburg
Fruit Of The Poisoned Vine? Some Comparative Observations On Chile’S Constitution, Tom Ginsburg
Tom Ginsburg
No abstract provided.
The Age Of Constitutions In The Americas, M. C. Mirow
The Age Of Constitutions In The Americas, M. C. Mirow
M. C. Mirow
The Place Of The Judiciary In The Constitutional Culture Of New Zealand, Matthew S. R. Palmer Qc
The Place Of The Judiciary In The Constitutional Culture Of New Zealand, Matthew S. R. Palmer Qc
The Hon Justice Matthew Palmer
New Zealand constitutional culture is dominated by the political branches of government: representative democracy and parliamentary sovereignty are perhaps the two most fundamental New Zealand constitutional norms. The judiciary has historically occupied an inferior, residual role with a relatively inaudible voice in constitutional dialogue. Against this context the paper explores the position of the judiciary in contemporary New Zealand constitutional culture. It concludes that it would take a striking judicial decision, consistent with public opinion, against government action, to invigorate popular support for the judicial branch of government. The normative prescription for the institutional health of the judicial branch is …
The Importance Of Free And Frank Advice From The Public Service, Matthew S. R. Palmer Qc
The Importance Of Free And Frank Advice From The Public Service, Matthew S. R. Palmer Qc
The Hon Justice Matthew Palmer
There has been a systematic diminution in the quality of policy advice in the New Zealand executive government between about 1998 and 2008. That has been associated with a diminution in the willingness of public servants to provide free and frank advice. Leadership at senior political and bureaucratic levels is required to address this as well as cultural change throughout the policy capacity of the New Zealand public service.
Stealth Constitutional Change And The Geography Of Law, Jill M. Fraley
Stealth Constitutional Change And The Geography Of Law, Jill M. Fraley
Jill M. Fraley
Bruce Ackerman's recent book, The Decline and Fall of the American Republic, is a sudden shift from his previous scholarship on constitutional moments and the ability of social movements to generate minor revolutions. By acknowledging how constitutional change did not fit into his model of deliberate, deeply debated movements, Ackerman has shifted the scholarly lens to unintentional and unanticipated structural variations. Ackerman focuses his book on the political processes and events that have fostered potentially illegitimate constitutional remodeling. He acknowledges that certain features of legal scholarship have contributed to a lack of awareness of slow, structural drift, but he does …
Assessing The Strength Of The Rule Of Law In New Zealand, Matthew S. R. Palmer Qc
Assessing The Strength Of The Rule Of Law In New Zealand, Matthew S. R. Palmer Qc
The Hon Justice Matthew Palmer
The rule of law is fundamental to New Zealand’s legal system but its content is inadequately understood and observed. This paper calls for the rule of law in New Zealand to be clarified, strengthened and applied. The article offers an essentialised conception of the rule of law that might cross ideological divides and assesses recent Acts of Parliament against that conception. Finally, the article comments on the place of the rule of law in New Zealand’s constitutional culture and calls for its strengthening by establishment of an independent means of assessing draft legislation for consistency with the rule of law.
Ministerial Responsibility And Chief Executive Accountability: The Implications Of The Better Public Services Reform Programme, Matthew S. R. Palmer Qc
Ministerial Responsibility And Chief Executive Accountability: The Implications Of The Better Public Services Reform Programme, Matthew S. R. Palmer Qc
The Hon Justice Matthew Palmer
Public Reporting Of Courts’ Performance – How Is This Best Achieved?, Matthew S.R. Palmer
Public Reporting Of Courts’ Performance – How Is This Best Achieved?, Matthew S.R. Palmer
The Hon Justice Matthew Palmer
In this address Matthew Palmer suggests: 1 The disclosure of information, probably more information than the judiciary feels comfortable disclosing, in a simple, straightforward, unvarnished way, is essential to the medium term constitutional legitimacy of the judiciary. 2 Judges, public servants and politicians speak different languages. Recognising the differences is the first step to a better understanding of, and communication with, each other and, perhaps to mitigating the potential for constitutional conflicts to get out of hand. 3 It’s not constitutionally appropriate for the executive or legislative branches of government to decide, over the wishes of the judiciary, on the …
The Law Officers And Departmental Lawyers, Matthew S. R. Palmer
The Law Officers And Departmental Lawyers, Matthew S. R. Palmer
The Hon Justice Matthew Palmer
This short article explains the constitutional relationship between the law officers of the Crown and departmental lawyers in New Zealand.
"Open The Doors And Where Are The People?: Constitutional Dialogue In The Shadow Of The People", Matthew S. R. Palmer
"Open The Doors And Where Are The People?: Constitutional Dialogue In The Shadow Of The People", Matthew S. R. Palmer
The Hon Justice Matthew Palmer
The Treaty Of Waitangi In New Zealand's Law And Constitution, Reviewed By Sir Edmund Thomas, Matthew S. R. Palmer
The Treaty Of Waitangi In New Zealand's Law And Constitution, Reviewed By Sir Edmund Thomas, Matthew S. R. Palmer
The Hon Justice Matthew Palmer
Does The Constitutional Process Matter?, Zachary Elkins
Does The Constitutional Process Matter?, Zachary Elkins
Zachary Elkins
Constitution-making is a ubiquitous but poorly understood phenomenon. There is much speculation but relatively little evidence about the impact of different design processes on constitutional outcomes. Much of the debate reduces to the question of who is involved in the process and when. We consider two central issues in this regard. The first is the problem of institutional self-dealing, or whether governmental organs that have something to gain from the constitutional outcome should be involved in the process. The second has to do with the merits of public involvement in the process. Both of these concerns have clear normative implications …
The Languages Of Constitutional Dialogue: Bargaining In The Shadow Of The People, Matthew S. R. Palmer
The Languages Of Constitutional Dialogue: Bargaining In The Shadow Of The People, Matthew S. R. Palmer
The Hon Justice Matthew Palmer
The 2007 Bora Laskin Annual Lecture at Osgoode Hall Law School analyzes law and policy as different languages in which the judicial and political branches of government speak and think - the languages of law and policy. It asks what the languages should be in which constitutional dialogue is conducted and, in particular, whether judges should always be required to be legally trained.
Constitutional Design And Law: The Political Economy Of Cabinet And Congressional Government, Matthew S. R. Palmer
Constitutional Design And Law: The Political Economy Of Cabinet And Congressional Government, Matthew S. R. Palmer
The Hon Justice Matthew Palmer
The dissertation takes a political economy approach to constitutional design and legislation in the Westminster (Cabinet) and US (Congressional) models of government. Part I develops the economics of comparative political organization by constructing a theoretical framework for analyzing constitutional design. Part II applies the framework to distinguish the essences of the Cabinet and Congressional systems of constitutional design in the contexts of US and Canadian federal government. Part III analyzes the effects of the different constitutional designs on the processes of legislating in each system and on the substantive characteristics of legislation in each system. The analysis is subjected to …