Author: Tom Ginsburg
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Whither Chinese Constitutionalism in the 21st Century?
China’s constitution has been described (by Professor Donald Clarke) as the least important document in the Chinese legal system. But constitutional discourse is clearly becoming more important in Chinese law politics, as highlighted by the recent high profile arrest and subsequent release of Xu Zhiyong, a lawyer associated with the Open Constitution Initiative.
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Constitutional implications of Japan’s upcoming election
Japan’s Lower House elections will occur in a few days time on August 30. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has run Japan more or less continuously since its formation since 1955, is widely expected to go down to defeat. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is expected to take the lead role in…
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Guest Post: Constitutional Aftermath of Taiwan’s Typhoon
Typhoon Morakot, now known as Taiwan’s Katrina, brought not only a catastropic flood but also a political avalanche to Taiwan. Public criticism toward the government’s disordered, too-slow rescue efforts is giving rise to anger against President Ma, blaming him for his inaction, wooden qualities and incompetence as leader of the nation.
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The Puzzle of Unamendable Provisions: Debate-Impairing Rules vs. Substantive Entrenchment
Many constitutions purport to make some provisions immune from ordinary amendment processes. The Constitution of Turkey, for example, states that the character of the country as a secular democracy and republic cannot be changed, and forbids any proposal to amend these provisions.
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Of Coups and Term Limits: Thoughts on the Niger Referendum This Week
All eyes will be on Niger this Tuesday as President Mamadou Tandja goes ahead with a referendum to allow himself to rule for three more years after completing his constitutional mandate of two terms this December. Recall that when the Constitutional Court ruled his proposal unconstitutional earlier this summer, Tandja assumed emergency powers and disbanded…
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The Lawrence of India (Pt 2) (the Supreme Court Sequel)
In a recent post (7/5/09), I reported and commented on the decision of the Delhi High Court in NAZ Foundation v. Government of NCT of Delhi & Ors, reading down 377 of the Indian Criminal Code, so as to apply only to “nonconsensual penile non-vaginal sex and penile non-vaginal sex involving minors” – a decision…
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Honduras: The Relevant Provisions
The discussion of Honduras’ constitutional crisis has focused on the military coup removing President Zelaya and installing a replacement. The coup raises intriguing issues concerning the Constitution of 1982 and its attempt to avoid the problem of extending the executive term beyond constitutional limitations.
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The Lawrence of India?
In Lawrence, when Justice Kennedy surveyed practices regarding the criminalization of sodomy in comparable democracies, a notable omission from his analysis was India: it was clearly an outlier, compared to other major “free” constitutional democracies, in continuing to criminalize sodomy in 2004.
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Zimbabwe begins constitution-making
Zimbabwe officially began the constitution-making process yesterday, a key part of the power-sharing agreement between long-time President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Look for this process
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Niger: Constitutional Court stands firm
Niger’s Constitutional Court rejected President Tandja’s attempt to hold a referendum in August over a proposed rewrite of the constitution to bypass term limits. The Court held, inter alia, that the procedural rules for delcaring a referendum had not been followed.