Books in the Comparative Constitutional Law and Policy series

Public participation is a vital part of constitution-making processes around the world, but we know very little about the extent to which participation affects constitutional texts. In this book, Alexander Hudson offers a systematic measurement of the impact of public participation in three much-cited cases - Brazil, South Africa, and Iceland - and introduces a theory of party-mediated public participation. He argues that public participation has limited potential to affect the constitutional text but that the effectiveness of participation varies with the political context. Party strength is the key factor, as strong political parties are unlikely to incorporate public input, while weaker parties are comparatively more responsive to public input. This party-mediation thesis fundamentally challenges the contemporary consensus on the design of constitution-making processes and places new emphasis on the role of political parties.

Buddhism and Comparative Constitutional Law offers the first comprehensive account of the entanglements of Buddhism and constitutional law in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Tibet, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan. Bringing together an interdisciplinary team of experts, the volume offers a complex portrait of "e;the Buddhist-constitutional complex,"e; demonstrating the intricate and powerful ways in which Buddhist and constitutional ideas merged, interacted and co-evolved. The authors also highlight the important ways in which Buddhist actors have (re)conceived Western liberal ideals such as constitutionalism, rule of law, and secularism. Available Open Access on Cambridge Core, this trans-disciplinary volume is written to be accessible to a non-specialist audience.

The new wave of populism that has emerged over the last five years in Europe and in the US urgently needs to be better understood in a comparative and historical context. Using Italy - including the experiment of a self-styled populist coalition government - as a case study, this book investigates how populists in power borrow, use and manipulate categories of constitutional theory and instruments of constitutional law. Giuseppe Martinico goes beyond treating constitutionalism and populism as purely antithetical to dive deeply into the impact of populism on the activity of some instruments of constitutional democracy, endeavoring to explore their role as possible fora of populist claims and targets of populist attacks. Most importantly, he points to ways in which constitutional democracies can channel populist claims without jeopardizing the legacy of post-World War II constitutionalism. This book is aimed at academics and practicing lawyers interested in populism and comparative constitutional law.

With its emphasis on emerging and cutting-edge debates in the study of comparative constitutional law and politics, its suitability for both research and teaching use, and its distinguished and diverse cast of contributors, this handbook is a must-have for scholars and instructors alike. This versatile volume combines the depth and rigor of a scholarly reference work with features for teaching in law and social science courses. Its interdisciplinary case-study approach provides political and historical as well as legal context: each modular chapter offers an overview of a topic and a jurisdiction, followed by a case study that simultaneously contextualizes both. Its forward-looking and highly diverse selection of topics and jurisdictions fills gaps in the literature on the Global South as well as the West. A timely section on challenges to liberal constitutional democracy addresses pressing concerns about democratic backsliding and illiberal and/or authoritarian regimes.

In Towering Judges: A Comparative Study of Constitutional Judges, Rehan Abeyratne and Iddo Porat lead an exploration of a new topic in comparative constitutional law: towering judges. The volume examines the work of nineteen judges from fourteen jurisdictions, each of whom stood out individually among their fellow judges and had a unique impact on the trajectory of constitutional law. The chapters ask: what makes a towering judge; what are the background conditions that foster or deter the rise of towering judges; are towering judges, on balance, positive or detrimental for constitutional systems; how do towering judges differ from one jurisdiction to another; how do political and historical developments relate to this phenomenon; and how does all of this fit within global constitutionalism? The answers to these questions offer important insight into how these judges were able to shine to an uncommon degree in a profession where individualism is not always looked on favourably.

Many constitutions include provisions intended to limit the discretion of governments in economic policy. In times of financial crises, such provisions often come under pressure as a result of calls for exceptional responses to crisis situations. This volume assesses the ability of constitutional orders all over the world to cope with financial crises, and the demands for emergency powers that typically accompany them. Bringing together a variety of perspectives from legal scholars, economists, and political scientists, this volume traces the long-run implications of financial crises for constitutional order. In exploring the theoretical and practical problems raised by the constitutionalization of economic policy during times of severe crisis, this volume showcases an array of constitutional design options and the ways they channel governmental responses to emergency.

Judges often behave in surprising ways when they re-interpret laws and constitutions. Contrary to existing expectations, judges regularly abandon their own established interpretations in favor of new understandings. In Reconstructing Rights, Stephan Stohler offers a new theory of judicial behavior which demonstrates that judges do not act alone. Instead, Stohler shows that judges work in a deliberative fashion with aligned partisans in the elected branches to articulate evolving interpretations of major statutes and constitutions. Reconstructing Rights draws on legislative debates, legal briefs, and hundreds of judicial opinions issued from high courts in India, South Africa, and the United States in the area of discrimination and affirmative action. These materials demonstrate judges' willingness to provide interpretative leadership. But they also demonstrate how judges relinquish their leadership roles when their aligned counterparts disagree. This pattern of behavior indicates that judges do not exercise exclusive authority over constitutional interpretation. Rather, that task is subject to greater democratic influence than is often acknowledged.

"Comparative constitutional law is an intellectually vibrant field that encompasses an increasingly broad array of approaches and methodologies. This series collects analytically innovative and empirically grounded work from scholars of comparative constitutionalism across academic disciplines. Books in the series include theoretically informed studies of single constitutional jurisdictions, comparative studies of constitutional law and institutions, and edited collections of original essays that respond to challenging theoretical and empirical questions in the field"--

"Liberal concepts of democracy envision courts as key institutions for the promotion and protection of democratic regimes. Yet social science scholarship suggests that courts are fundamentally constrained in ways that undermine their ability to do so. Recognizing these constraints, this book argues that courts can influence regime instability by affecting inter-elite conflict. They do so in three ways: by helping leaders credibly reveal their rationales for policy choices that may appear to violate legal rules; by encouraging leaders to less frequently make decisions that raise concerns about rule violations; and by encouraging the opposition to accept potential rule violations. In each way, courts promote the prudent use of power. We evaluate implications of this argument using a century of global data tracking judicial politics and democratic survival"--

This versatile and interdisciplinary handbook covers cutting-edge issues in constitutional law, constitutional politics, and judicial politics across a diverse range of countries and regions. Its innovative design combines features for teaching use with rigorous yet accessible scholarship on topics and jurisdictions rarely found elsewhere.

This book makes a significant contribution to the comparative constitutional law and politics of hybrid regimes, those that are neither liberal democratic nor closed autocracies, whose number is on the rise everywhere in the world. It takes as its case studies China's two Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong and Macau.

This volume is the first to explore how the influence of judicial personas has brought about constitutional change. Chapters convey the personal history of these judges, their lively debates, and the turbulent context in which many of them operated. The book is for scholars of law, political science, and history.

Constitution-making is often thought of as an exclusively national project that constitutes the framework for politics and law within a nation, but constitutions have always been influenced by ideas from abroad. External influence is increasing, producing a transnational legal order with its own constitutional norms, processes, guidelines and shared ideas.

Many contemporary democracies face popular pressure to profoundly transform or replace their constitutions. This book shows how redrafting constitutions in democratic regimes may contribute to the improvement or erosion of democracy. Its interdisciplinary and comparative perspective makes it a valuable resource to scholars of law and politics.

This book is for scholars interested in the comparative study of judicial review. It develops a theoretical framework for understanding how this institution shapes societal understandings of the law/politics relation. Its findings cast light on the conditions under which judicial review drives a sustainable commitment to constitutionally limited government.

The Norwegian constitution is the second oldest in the world and has much to teach the world about balancing the rule of law against majority rule. This is the story of Norwegian constitutionalism from 1814 onwards, told through Supreme Court cases reviewing legal statutes under the constitution and European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) law.

This book traces the development of constitutional courts in Latin America, and develops concepts such as judicial autonomy and authority. It aims to understand the design of judicial institutions and combines qualitative and quantitative evidence to explore the basic purpose of constitutional justice.

Constitutions, Religion and Politics in Asia presents a detailed comparative study on how constitutional clauses on religion operate in three religiously plural societies. Shah explains the origins of these clauses and examines how they have been interpreted and enforced, demonstrating the unintended and adverse consequences on religious freedom.

This book is for academics, policy-makers, and students of law and political science who are interested in how judicial behaviour is shaped by politics and how courts can impact on and be impacted by the state of democratisation in their countries.

This book demonstrates that new constitutions can, but often do not, improve a nation's level of democracy. The authors explore patterns of constitution-making with cases from Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East to show that participation is a better predictor of levels of democracy than the constitution itself.

Constitutions are made in almost all regime transformations. What are the dangers and hopes associated with such a process? What can make constitution-making legitimate? This book explores the democratic methods by which political communities make their basic law, arguing that the most advanced method developed from Spain and South Africa.

It is widely assumed that a well-designed and well-implemented constitution can help ensure religious harmony in modern states. Drawing on groundbreaking research from Sri Lanka, with a focus on Buddhism, this book argues that constitutional law can be more harmful than helpful when it comes to addressing conflicts over religion.

The book discusses the role of constitutional courts in democracies experiencing internal armed conflicts. It argues that constitutional jurisprudence can be a lighthouse helping civilian governments and the armed forces navigate through those uncertain and troubled waters.

This book proposes a general theory of international courts that assumes member states are free to ignore international agreements and adverse court rulings, and that the court does not have any informational advantages. It demonstrates that international courts can facilitate cooperation with international law, but only within important political constraints.

This book argues that national and international courts seek to enhance their reputations through the strategic exercise of judicial power. When the court's reputation is increased, parties will be expected to comply with its judgments and the reputational sanction on a party that fails to comply will be higher.

Despite India's parliamentary system, the president has authority to enact legislation (or ordinances) under certain circumstances without involving parliament. This book studies ordinances at the national level in India centered around historical, empirical, and analytical themes. It explains why the fate of parliamentary reforms may be tied to the reform of the provision for ordinances.