Category: Analysis
-
Canada’s New Prostitution Bill: Don’t Assume it’s Unconstitutional
—Michael Plaxton, University of Saskatchewan [Twitter: @MichaelPlaxton] Last week, Justice Minister Peter MacKay tabled the much-anticipated Bill C-36, The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. The bill, which is a response to the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark ruling in Bedford, has already been the subject of considerable criticism.
-
Is There a Protected Right to Access the Internet?
—Jason M. Tenenbaum, Barton LLP Much of the international discussion with regard to access rights to the Internet has focused on the idea of “network neutrality,” and not on whether the right to access the Internet itself is protected. On a domestic level, countries like France[1] and Greece[2] have already created constitutional provisions to protect…
-
The Indonesian General Election and the “Weak” Constitutional Court
—Stefanus Hendrianto, Santa Clara University May 2014 was quite a month in Indonesian constitutional politics. On May 19th, 2014, the Indonesian Constitutional Court stripped out its own authority to review regional election disputes involving heads of government. On the following day, the General Election Commission closed the nomination for the 2014 presidential election.
-
Australia–The High Court Upholds the Forfeiture of a Drug Offender’s Castle: Attorney-General (NT) v Emmerson
—Dr. Lael Weis, Melbourne Law School [Cross-posted from Opinions on High Court Blog] Should the state be able to seize ‘all or any’ property ‘owned or controlled by’ persons convicted of multiple drug-related offences, regardless of the connection of that property to the commission of crime?
-
How “Islamic” is Pakistan’s Constitution?
–Dawood Ahmed, University of Chicago During peace negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) in Pakistan, Taliban leaders declared that they did not accept the Constitution of Pakistan as “Islamic” and therefore did not believe in holding peace talks under it. Indeed, they alleged that there was not a single Islamic clause in the Constitution.
-
Constitutions…in Dictatorships?
[cross posted from the Cambridge University Press blog 1584] “What is the difference,” went an old joke in the Soviet Union, “between the Soviet and U.S. Constitutions? The Soviet Constitution guarantees freedom of speech; the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom after speech.”
-
Podcast on Senate Reference
–Richard Albert, Boston College Law School Last week, we alerted to you an important advisory opinion on Senate reform scheduled to be released by the Supreme Court of Canada tomorrow. Ahead of this important day in Canadian constitutional law, the McGill Law Journal has recorded an informative podcast on the subject.
-
Whose “Constitutional Moment” is it Anyway? A Response to Professor Chen on Electoral Reform in Hong Kong
—Alyssa S. King, lawyer in New York and 2012 graduate of Yale Law School, and Alvin Y. H. Cheung, New York University School of Law* As the controversy over Hong Kong’s Chief Executive electoral reforms for 2017 rages on, it is vital not to lose sight of the parameters of the debate.[i]
-
Suspended Declarations of Invalidity and the Rule of Law
—Robert Leckey, McGill University [cross-posted from UK Constitutional Law Blog] In December 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada declared the constitutional invalidity of three major provisions in the domestic criminal law on sex work. Specifically, in Canada (Attorney General) v Bedford, the Court struck down prohibitions against keeping a bawdy-house, living on the avails of…
-
Tunisia’s New Constitution: Progress and Challenges to Come
–Zaid Al-Ali (Senior Advisor, International IDEA) and Donia Ben Romdhane (Senior Advisor, International IDEA) [Cross-posted from Open Democracy] In spite of a number of serious challenges, the Tunisian Constituent Assembly – under the people’s ever watchful eye – successfully negotiated a new and modern constitution.