Interpreting Constitutions A Comparative Study

by Goldsworthy, Jeffrey

• ISBN13: 9780199226474
• ISBN10: 0199226474
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-07-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This book describes the constitutions of six major federations and how they have been interpreted by their highest courts. The study compares the interpretive methods that have guided the courts, and explores the reasons for major differences between these methods, looking to the different social, historical, institutional and political circumstances.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xiii
List of Contributors	p. xv
Abbreviations	p. xvii
Introduction	p. 1
The Challenges of Constitutional Interpretation	p. 1
Comparing Interpretive Methods and Philosophies	p. 3
An Outline of What Follows	p. 4
The United States: Eclecticism in the Service of Pragmatism	p. 7
The Constitution's Origins and Structure	p. 8
Formation of the Constitution	p. 8
Basis of the Constitution: Popular versus State Sovereignty	p. 9
The Legislature and the Executive	p. 10
The Supreme Court	p. 12
Constitutional Amendment	p. 15
Problems and Methods of Interpretation	p. 17
General Problems of Constitutional Interpretation	p. 17
Early Examples of Constitutional Interpretation	p. 22
Text	p. 27
Ordinary meaning	p. 27
Technical meaning	p. 28
Textual structure	p. 29
'Holistic' interpretation	p. 29
Text and practice	p. 29
Constitutional Structure	p. 30
'Representation-reinforcing Review'	p. 33
Original Understanding	p. 35
Appeals to Justice	p. 38
Precedent	p. 40
Considerations of Administrability	p. 42
(Moderately) Disfavoured Interpretive Methods	p. 44
Presumptive interpretation	p. 44
Academic writing	p. 44
Non-United States law	p. 45
Conclusion	p. 47
Preferred interpretive techniques	p. 47
Eclecticism in practice	p. 48
Techniques and subjects	p. 48
Critical Evaluation	p. 49
Canada: From Privy Council to Supreme Court	p. 55
Introduction to Canada's Constitution	p. 55
Constitution Act 1867	p. 55
Constitution Act 1982	p. 56
Amending Procedures	p. 56
Charter of Rights	p. 58
Supreme Court of Canada	p. 58
Separation of Powers	p. 60
Problems of Interpretation	p. 61
Interpretation of the Residuary Clause	p. 61
Interpretation of the Two Lists	p. 66
Interpretation of the Charter of Rights	p. 69
Interpretation of Aboriginal Rights	p. 72
Interpretation of Judicial Independence	p. 73
Sources of Interpretation	p. 74
Constitution as Statute	p. 74
Legislative History	p. 77
Previous Decisions	p. 79
Academic Writings	p. 80
Comparative and International Sources	p. 80
Modes of Interpretation	p. 82
Originalism	p. 82
Progressive Interpretation	p. 84
Generous Interpretation	p. 87
Purposive Interpretation	p. 88
Unwritten Constitutional Principles	p. 90
Influences on Interpretation	p. 93
Bilingual and Bicultural Country	p. 93
Aboriginal Peoples	p. 95
Crisis Management by the Court	p. 96
Conclusions on Interpretation	p. 100
Dialogue between the Court and Legislatures	p. 100
Presumption of Constitutionality	p. 102
Formalism and Creativity	p. 103
Australia: Devotion to Legalism	p. 106
The Constitution's Origins and Structure	p. 106
The Constitution	p. 106
Judicial Review	p. 110
The Judges	p. 112
Problems and Methods of Interpretation	p. 114
Causes of Interpretive Difficulties	p. 114
Sources of Interpretive Principles	p. 115
Current Interpretive Methodology	p. 121
Words	p. 121
Context	p. 123
Extrinsic evidence of framers' intentions and purposes	p. 123
'Structural' principles and implications	p. 128
Precedent	p. 130
Deference to other branches	p. 130
Policy considerations	p. 131
Formal and conceptual analysis	p. 133
Comparative and international law	p. 135
Academic writings	p. 136
Weighing the Factors	p. 136
Application of Interpretive Methodology	p. 136
Grants of powers	p. 136
Limitations on power, including rights	p. 141
Changes Over Time: Recent Debates	p. 144
Implied rights	p. 145
Separation of powers	p. 148
Original meaning and framers' intent	p. 150
The Balance Between Legitimate and Illegitimate Creativity	p. 152
Institutional and Cultural Factors	p. 155
Critical Evaluation	p. 158
Germany: Balancing Rights and Duties	p. 161
Introduction	p. 161
Genesis	p. 162
Constitutive assembly	p. 163
Constitutent power and reunification	p. 165
The Basic Law: General Features	p. 167
Supremacy of the Constitution	p. 168
The constitutional structure	p. 168
Rights, duties, and institutional guarantees	p. 169
The amending process	p. 171
The Federal Constitutional Court	p. 172
Organization and composition	p. 173
Authority and jurisdiction	p. 174
Workload and decisional procedures	p. 175
Problems of Interpretation	p. 177
Conception of the Constitution	p. 177
An objective order of values	p. 179
Negative and positive rights	p. 183
The horizontality of rights	p. 184
Structures and relationships	p. 186
Sources of Interpretation	p. 189
Unwritten principles	p. 189
The written Constitution	p. 190
Historical materials	p. 191
Judicial precedents	p. 192
Academic writings	p. 193
Comparative and international materials	p. 194
Approaches to Interpretation	p. 196
Textual interpretation	p. 197
Drafting history	p. 197
Structural interpretation	p. 199
Teleological interpretation	p. 200
Proportionality	p. 201
Practical concordance	p. 203
Passive virtues and dialogical techniques	p. 204
Cultural and Institutional Determinants	p. 206
Parliamentary Government	p. 206
The Civil Law Tradition	p. 207
Legal Education and Scholarship	p. 208
Style of Judicial Decision-Making	p. 210
Specialization	p. 211
Conclusion	p. 212
India: From Positivism to Structuralism	p. 215
Introduction	p. 215
The Indian Constitution	p. 215
Salient Features	p. 216
Parliamentary government	p. 216
Federalism	p. 217
Bill of rights	p. 218
Directive principles	p. 220
Separation of powers	p. 221
Amendment of the Constitution	p. 221
Judicial review	p. 222
The Judges	p. 225
Problems and Methods of Interpretation	p. 226
The Choice of Methods	p. 226
Positivist and structuralist interpretation	p. 226
The colonial heritage	p. 227
The constituent assembly and the role of the judiciary	p. 227
The Legal Positivism of the Early Years	p. 229
External Aids to Interpretation	p. 232
Interpreting the Federal Distribution of Power	p. 232
Resolving Conflicts between Constitutional Provisions	p. 234
Freedom of religion	p. 234
Powers and privileges of legislatures	p. 235
Towards Sociological Interpretation	p. 236
Affirmative action for the weaker sections of society	p. 236
Freedom of speech	p. 238
Property rights	p. 239
Towards Structuralist Interpretation: the Basic Structure Doctrine	p. 242
Emergencies	p. 248
Post-emergency Judicial Activism	p. 251
Liberal interpretation of fundamental rights and directive principles	p. 251
Article 21 revisited	p. 252
International covenants and fundamental rights	p. 254
Competing values and balancing	p. 255
Procedural innovations for access to justice	p. 256
Transformation from adversarial to polycentric-law making through directions	p. 257
The independence of the judiciary	p. 259
The Court as a Political Institution	p. 261
Institutional and Cultural Factors	p. 263
Conclusion	p. 265
South Africa: From Constitutional Promise to Social Transformation	p. 266
Introduction to South Africa's Constitution	p. 266
Constitution, 1996	p. 267
The Colonial Constitutional Order: the Union and Apartheid Constitutions	p. 268
Democratic Transition, Constitutional Principles and the 1993 Interim Constitution	p. 271
Regionalism and Cooperative Governance	p. 275
Rule of Law and the Bill of Rights	p. 278
Amending Procedures	p. 281
Constitutional Court	p. 282
Sources of Interpretation	p. 284
Constitution as Statute	p. 285
Legislative History	p. 286
Public Opinion and Constitutional Values	p. 287
International and Comparative Sources	p. 289
Modes of Interpretation	p. 292
Generous Interpretation	p. 292
Purposive Interpretation	p. 293
Positive Obligations and Accountability	p. 295
Duty to Develop the Common Law and Customary Law	p. 296
Internal Directives for Interpretation	p. 297
Problems of Interpretation	p. 298
Certification and the Problem of Future Constitutional Amendments	p. 299
Interpreting the Bill of Rights within the Frame of Dignity, Equality and Freedom	p. 302
Interpretation of Socio-economic Rights	p. 307
Interpretation of Regional and Concurrent Powers	p. 309
Influences on Interpretation	p. 314
History	p. 314
The Historical Exclusion of Indigenous Law and the Hope of Ubuntu	p. 316
Legal Legacies and Popular Experience of the Law	p. 318
Conclusion	p. 320
Conclusions	p. 321
Introduction	p. 321
Comparing Interpretive Methods and Philosophies	p. 325
The United States	p. 326
Canada	p. 328
Australia	p. 329
Germany	p. 330
India	p. 332
South Africa	p. 334
Explaining the Differences	p. 335
Legal Culture	p. 336
Judicial Appointments and Homogeneity	p. 337
Political Culture	p. 338
The Nature and Age of the Constitution	p. 341
'The Felt Necessities of the Time'	p. 343
Index	p. 347
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