National Constitutions in European and Global Governance: Democracy, Rights, the Rule of Law

National Constitutions in European and Global Governance: Democracy, Rights, the Rule of Law
Author: Anneli Albi
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 1522
Release: 2019-05-29
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9462652732

This two-volume book, published open access, brings together leading scholars of constitutional law from twenty-nine European countries to revisit the role of national constitutions at a time when decision-making has increasingly shifted to the European and transnational level. It offers important insights into three areas. First, it explores how constitutions reflect the transfer of powers from domestic to European and global institutions. Secondly, it revisits substantive constitutional values, such as the protection of constitutional rights, the rule of law, democratic participation and constitutional review, along with constitutional court judgments that tackle the protection of these rights and values in the transnational context, e.g. with regard to the Data Retention Directive, the European Arrest Warrant, the ESM Treaty, and EU and IMF austerity measures. The responsiveness of the ECJ regarding the above rights and values, along with the standard of protection, is also assessed. Thirdly, challenges in the context of global governance in relation to judicial review, democratic control and accountability are examined. On a broader level, the contributors were also invited to reflect on what has increasingly been described as the erosion or ‘twilight’ of constitutionalism, or a shift to a thin version of the rule of law, democracy and judicial review in the context of Europeanisation and globalisation processes. The national reports are complemented by a separately published comparative study, which identifies a number of broader trends and challenges that are shared across several Member States and warrant wider discussion. The research for this publication and the comparative study were carried out within the framework of the ERC-funded project ‘The Role and Future of National Constitutions in European and Global Governance’. The book is aimed at scholars, researchers, judges and legal advisors working on the interface between national constitutional law and EU and transnational law. The extradition cases are also of interest to scholars and practitioners in the field of criminal law. Anneli Albi is Professor of European Law at the University of Kent, United Kingdom. Samo Bardutzky is Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Courts, Politics and Constitutional Law

Courts, Politics and Constitutional Law
Author: Martin Belov
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2019-10-16
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1000707970

This book examines how the judicialization of politics, and the politicization of courts, affect representative democracy, rule of law, and separation of powers. This volume critically assesses the phenomena of judicialization of politics and politicization of the judiciary. It explores the rising impact of courts on key constitutional principles, such as democracy and separation of powers, which is paralleled by increasing criticism of this influence from both liberal and illiberal perspectives. The book also addresses the challenges to rule of law as a principle, preconditioned on independent and powerful courts, which are triggered by both democratic backsliding and the mushrooming of populist constitutionalism and illiberal constitutional regimes. Presenting a wide range of case studies, the book will be a valuable resource for students and academics in constitutional law and political science seeking to understand the increasingly complex relationships between the judiciary, executive and legislature.

Children's Constitutional Rights in the Nordic Countries

Children's Constitutional Rights in the Nordic Countries
Author: Trude Haugli
Publisher: Brill Nijhoff
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020
Genre: Children
ISBN: 9789004382800

This study explores whether and how enshrining children's rights in national constitutions improves implementation and enforcement of those rights by comparing Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish law.

Constitutions of the World

Constitutions of the World
Author: Robert L. Maddex
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2014-03-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1136217894

From Algeria to Zimbabwe, Constitutions of the World is a guide to the constitutions and constitutional histories of eighty nations. It will prove an invaluable resource for any teacher or student interested in politics, law, human rights or the political history of nations across the world. Strucured alphabetically each chapter profiles one country in an easy-to-use format. For every country a wealth of information is to be found.

The Constitution of Finland

The Constitution of Finland
Author: Jaakko Husa
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2010-11-30
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1847316123

This book deals with the living Constitution of Finland, with an emphasis on constitutional history, culture, and practice. 'Culture' here refers to the cognitive long-term social or mental structure which makes it possible for politicians, civil servants, judges, and lawyers to grasp the constitutional environment in which they exist. Finland is a small modern, democratic Nordic country with a politically stable welfare system and a constitutional history dating back to the 1700s which contains remnants of Swedish rule, Russian rule, and the period of independence since 1917. It also contains several inner tensions: parliamentarism versus presidentialism, a high level of constitutionalism versus a virtual lack of constitutional judicial review, and a formally rigid but actually flexible constitution. The book offers a realistic but critical overview of the Finnish constitution, while also discussing fundamental questions about the very nature of constitution and constitutionalism. In addition, the constitutional effect of the EU and the European Convention on Human Rights are discussed and, where appropriate, a specific comparative dimension is added. The book is written in an uncomplicated manner and is aimed at those not familiar with the system, providing an introduction and first orientation without excessive detail. Each chapter concludes with a list of further reading and relevant websites.

Parliamentary Bills of Rights

Parliamentary Bills of Rights
Author: Janet L. Hiebert
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 503
Release: 2015-01-29
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1316240673

Both New Zealand and the United Kingdom challenge assumptions about how a bill of rights functions. Their parliamentary bills of rights constrain judicial review and also look to parliament to play a rights-protecting role. This arises from the requirement to inform parliament if legislative bills are not compatible with rights. But are these bills of rights operating in this proactive manner? Are governments encountering significantly stronger pressures to ensure legislation complies with rights? Are these bills of rights resulting in more reasoned deliberations in parliament about the justification of legislation from a rights perspective? Through extensive interviews with public officials and analysis of parliamentary debates where questions of compliance with rights arise (prisoner voting, parole and sentencing policy, counter-terrorism legislation, and same-sex marriage), this book argues that a serious gap exists between the promise of these bills of rights and the institutional variables that influence how these parliaments function.

How Constitutions Change

How Constitutions Change
Author: Dawn Oliver
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 550
Release: 2011-08-09
Genre: Law
ISBN: 184731788X

This set of essays explores how constitutions change and are changed in a number of countries, and how the 'constitution' of the EU changes and is changed. For a range of reasons, including internal and external pressures, the constitutional arrangements in many countries are changing. Constitutional change may be formal, involving amendments to the texts of Constitutions or the passage of legislation of a clearly constitutional kind, or informal and organic, as where court decisions affect the operation of the system of government, or where new administrative and other arrangements (eg agencification) affect or articulate or alter the operation of the constitution of the country, without the need to resort to formal change. The countries in this study include, from the EU, a common law country, a Nordic one, a former communist state, several civil law systems, parliamentary systems and a hybrid one (France). Chapters on non EU countries include two on developing countries (India and South Africa), two on common law countries without entrenched written constitutions (Israel and New Zealand), a presidential system (the USA) and three federal ones (Switzerland, the USA and Canada). In the last two chapters the editors conduct a detailed comparative analysis of the jurisdiction-based chapters and explore the question whether any overarching theory or theories about constitutional change in liberal democracies emerge from the study.

The Finnish Civil War 1918

The Finnish Civil War 1918
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2014-08-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004280715

The Finnish Civil War 1918 offers a rich account of the history and memory of the short conflict between socialist Reds and non-socialist Whites in the winter and spring of 1918. It also traces the legacy of the bloody war in Finnish society until today. The volume brings together established scholarship of political and social history with newer approaches stemming from the cultural history of war, memory studies, gender studies, history of emotions, psychohistory and oral history. The contributors provide readers with a solid discussion of the Civil War within its international and national frameworks. Among themes discussed are violence and terror, enemy images, Finnish irredentist campaigns in Soviet Karelia and the complex memory of the conflict. Besides a historical narrative, the volume discusses the current state of historiography of the Finnish Civil War. Contributors are Anders Ahlbäck, Pertti Haapala, Marianne Junila, Tiina Kinnunen, Tiina Lintunen, Aapo Roselius, Tauno Saarela, Juha Siltala, Tuomas Tepora and Marko Tikka.

Freedom in the World 2006

Freedom in the World 2006
Author: Freedom House
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 924
Release: 2006
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780742558038

Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 192 countries and a group of select territories are used by policy makers, the media, international corporations, and civic activists and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. Press accounts of the survey findings appear in hundreds of influential newspapers in the United States and abroad and form the basis of numerous radio and television reports. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.

The Nordic Constitutions

The Nordic Constitutions
Author: Helle Krunke
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2018-08-23
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1509910956

This book analyses the Nordic constitutional systems of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in a comparative context. It has two main aims: first to fill a gap in the literature by providing an accessible English language account of the Nordic constitutions, and second to provide a comparative analysis of them, revealing their similarities and differences within their political, historical and cultural contexts. In this respect, the book challenges the assumption that the Nordic countries form a homogeneous constitutional system due to their cultural and historical affinities, a view not necessarily supported by a close comparative examination. A key issue is EU membership –where the Nordic countries have made different choices at different times – and the book will show how this has affected the individual countries and whether a divide between EU member states (Denmark, Finland and Sweden) and non-members (Iceland and Norway) has appeared. Another key issue is how the ECHR has impacted the Nordic constitutional systems and whether the convention draws the Nordic systems closer to each other. The book represents a first of its kind in the English language, and will provide constitutional scholars with a valuable comparative resource on the Nordic region.