Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Legislation

Selected Works

1. Interpretation of Constitutions and Bills of Rights

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

Interpreting Bills Of Rights: The Value Of A Comparative Approach, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee Dec 2006

Interpreting Bills Of Rights: The Value Of A Comparative Approach, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

In certain jurisdictions, among them Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States, the practice of consulting comparative legal materials in interpreting domestic bills of rights has been criticized as illegitimate. This article examines four main concerns: (1) the texts of bills of rights – the argument that a bill of rights is to be interpreted within its own four walls and not in the light of analogies drawn from other jurisdictions; (2) national identity – the argument that a bill of rights embodies the values of a nation's people, and it is wrong to refer to foreign experiences to determine such …

Go to article

Rediscovering The Constitution, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee Dec 1994

Rediscovering The Constitution, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

The fundamental liberties in our Constitution involve a study of tensions: between an individual's rights and the community's interests, between the role of the judiciary on the one hand and the executive and legislature on the other. How we should interpret them depends on where we think equilibrium should be established. This depends on two main factors. The first is the proper function of the judiciary as laid down by our Constitution, which is discussed in Part I of this article. The second is the nature of our fundamental liberties, for they are worded with varying degrees of generality. ... …

Go to article