Month: May 2013
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The British American Colonies and Comparative Subnational Constitutionalism
—Scott Douglas Gerber, Professor of Law, Ohio Northern University My most recent academic book is A Distinct Judicial Power: The Origins of an Independent Judiciary, 1606-1787 (Oxford University Press, 2011).[1] That book is the first comprehensive analysis of the origins of judicial independence in the United States.
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Showing Germans the Light
–Or Bassok, Tikvah Scholar, NYU School of Law Conferences in the US on German public law often digress into an attempt by Americans scholars to show their German counterparts the scholarly “light.” The recipe has several variations.[1] According to the milder version, German public law scholarship fails to give an adequate account of reality when it comes to issues such as the relationship between courts and other political actors or to judicial motives.
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The Politics of Tunisia’s Final Draft Constitution
–Duncan Pickard, Democracy Reporting International and Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council [cross-posted from MENASource, a project of the Rafik Hariri Center] Tunisia’s constitution-drafting process has reached another milestone: the committee coordinating the drafting of the country’s post-authoritarian constitution presented its third and final draft to the National Constituent Assembly on April 22.
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Is Turkey in the process of adopting a new constitution or a large scale constitutional amendment? Some questions concerning constitutional theory
–Ali Acar, PhD Student at European University Institute [ali.acar@eui.eu ] Turkey is currently undergoing a process of drafting a new constitution. The lack of legitimacy of the present, 1982, constitution, which was originated from the 1980 military coup d’état, renders adoption of a new contitution necessary in the public opinion.
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The Judicialization of Pure Politics in Brazil
–Vanice Regina Lírio do Valle, Estácio de Sá University Law School The Brazilian Constitutional Court gained visibility worldwide due to its recent ruling in the “mensalão” case – a trial involving a Congressional vote-buying scheme which ended in the conviction of many politicians associated with former President Lula, and also numerous congressmen still in the House.
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Libyan Congress Blunders Constitutional Moment
—Lorianne Updike Toler, Esq., Lorianne Updike Toler Consulting & The University of Pennsylvania Law School The April 10 vote by the General National Congress of Libya amending their interim Constitutional Declaration was incredibly short-sighted. Instead of fixing the largest problem with the Declaration, the GNC dealt with the issue for which they were receiving the most political heat: popular elections rather than GNC appointment of the constituent assembly that will write Libya’s constitution.
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Egypt’s Constitution: The Religious Pot
–Mohamed Abdelaal, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Alexandria University School of Law Immediately after the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, which ended thirty years of repression and dictatorship under the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, Egyptians faced the serious challenge of electing a new president and building a new Egypt.
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Bachelet Appoints Group to Study New Constitution for Chile
—Claudia Heiss, Instituto de Asuntos Publicos, Universidad de Chile On April 23rd former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010), the front-runner candidate for the November presidential election, announced a commission to study a new constitution. The group is composed of nine lawyers (including two women) some of whom contributed to the 2005 reform signed by Bachelet’s predecessor Ricardo Lagos.