Category: Developments
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Canada’s Supreme Court upholds hate speech laws
—Carissima Mathen, Associate Professor of Law, University of Ottawa A comparative discussion of North American civil liberties invariably notes that Canada has a more limited scope of protection for freedom of expression than the United States. Nowhere is this more evident that the treatment of hateful expression.
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Zimbabwe’s New Constitution
—Richard Albert, Boston College Law School Zimbabweans will vote to approve a new constitution on Saturday. Drafting a new constitution was a condition of the 2008 coalition formed between political rivals President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The draft constitution is the product of a 25-member committee on which all three political parties…
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Creating a Constitutional Process Design for Libya via Constitutional Amendment
—Lorianne Updike Toler, The Constitutional Sources Project & Lorianne Updike Toler Consulting. The feared unrest in Libya prior to 15 February and now the confusion introduced by the Libyan Supreme Court’s decision last Tuesday to invalidate Amendment No. 3 of Libya’s Constitutional Declaration can all be attributed to the poor constitutional design of the Declaration…
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Get ready for new battles over Japan’s Constitution
–Lawrence Repeta, Meiji University Faculty of Law Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is focused on the economy — check out the collapse of the yen and the boom in the stock market since he took center stage. In his policy speech to open the new Diet session on January 28, Abe talked about the economy and…
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Just Deserts or Honor at Stake? India’s Pending Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill
–Nilesh Sinha In recent history, India’s constitutional adjudication has been amongst the most active in the world. Following its shameful capitulation before Indira Gandhi during the Indian emergency, the Supreme Court of India developed the tool of Public Interest Litigation (whereby a court can deliver prompt social justice, at times by taking up a matter…
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75% Millionaire Tax Rate Ruled Unconstitutional: Are Good Judges Bad for Democracy?
—Arthur Dyevre, Max Planck Institute Just before the turn of the year, on December 29th, the French Constitutional Council overturned the socialist government’s 75% income-tax rate for the rich, a measure the new occupant of the Elysée Palace, François Hollande, had turned into an anti-rich symbol during his presidential campaign.
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Fiji’s Continuing Constitutional Crisis
—Richard Albert, Boston College Law School In the latest twist in Fiji’s continuing constitutional crisis, the Fijian military government has rejected the new draft constitution proposed by the Constitution Commission. It is believed that the military rejected the draft constitution because the draft proposed dramatically to curb the powers of the military.
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Clapper v. Amnesty International: Still Trying for a Day in Court
—Sudha Setty, Western New England University School of Law In the last decade, U.S. courts have consistently blocked civil suits seeking damages for government overreaching in its counterterrorism programs. Most cases have been dismissed at the pleadings stage, as courts have found plaintiffs to be without standing and/or have found that plaintiffs who have standing…
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Japan Developments: An Era Ends, and New One Around the Corner?
Yesterday, the New York Times reported the death of Beate Sirota Gordon, likely the last link to the drafting of the Constitution of Japan in 1946. Sirota had been raised in Japan, and was a civilian employee of the U.S. occupation forces when she was thrust into the drafting process in February of 1946.
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Romanian Elections: An “Original” Democracy?
–Bianca Selejan-Guţan, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Simion Bărnuţiu Faculty of Law The long-awaited process in which Romanians were called to elect their representatives in the country’s Parliament came to an end last month. The Central Electoral Office announced the final results.