Category: courts
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Independent Institutions in Iraq
The Iraq Federal Supreme Court (FSC), following a petition by Prime Minister Maliki’s office, has just ruled that independent commissions such as the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) and the Central Bank of Iraq are to be attached to the executive branch.
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Feeble Democracy in Ukraine
A classic episode of the American television comedy Seinfeld finds two of the characters, Kramer and Newman, on a subway car playing the board game RISK. Kramer taunts his opponent for his losing position to which the latter responds “I’m not beaten yet.
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Enacting Constitutionalism
For readers who might be interested in a paper on the constitutional enactment of independent judicial institutions, may I suggest a paper just published entitled “Enacting Constitutionalism,” in which my coauthor and I focus on the political composition of the constituent body and its implications for the type of institutions enacted.
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Dignity, Death & the Depth of Comparative Engagement in the US
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Montana heard argument in Baxter v. State of Montana (Case No. DA 09-0051), an appeal by the state of Montana against a decision by a district court judge, Judge Dorothy McCarter, recognizing a right to physician assisted suicide under the Montana state constitution.
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A New Chief Justice for South Africa
Today, President Zuma announced that Justice Sandile Ngcobo will become the new Chief Justice of South Africa. The appointment is potentially significant in both: (1) what it says about Zuma’s commitment to judicial independence; and (2) what it signals about the likely direction of the Constitutional Court’s jurisprudence, at least over the next two years,…
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A New Chief Justice for South Africa
Today, President Zuma announced that Justice Sandile Ngcobo will be become the third Chief Justice of a democratic South Africa. The appointment is potentially significance in both: (1) what it says about Zuma’s commitment to judicial independence; and (2) what it signals about the likely direction of the Constitutional Court’s jurisprudence, at least over the…