Blog of the International Journal of Constitutional Law

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Month: December 2013

  • Untilting the Constitutional Playing Field in Myanmar (Burma)

    – Dominic J. Nardi, Jr., Ph.D. candidate, Department of Political Science, University of Michigan If you were the leader of the governing political party in a quasi-democratic state and you intended to run for president in the next general election, would you (a) propose to amend the constitution in a way that would allow your expected opponent, the widely admired leader of the opposition party, to compete, or (b) support the status quo?

  • Egypt’s New Draft Constitution of 2013: An Introduction and Appraisal

    —Mohamed Arafa, Alexandria University (Egypt) and Indiana University McKinney School of Law The Egyptian interim government supported by the Egyptian al–qwaat al–mosellaa(h) (military) recently released the new draft Egyptian Constitutional Charter. This draft Constitution is intended to replace, via amendment, the more Islamist–oriented de facto 2012 Constitution established during the recent reign of the Muslim Brotherhood (“MB”) under the leadership of the removed Islamist President Mohammad Morsi.

  • Comparative methodology in I.CON’s recent issue

    I.CON’s recent issue opens with two theoretical papers, each employing a comparative methodology in the theorization of constitutional ideas and practices. Focusing on originalist approaches in the United States and Australia, Lael Weis illustrates how a comparative work can advance our debates on constitutional interpretation.

  • I.CON’s current issue (Table of Contents)

    I.CON  Volume 11 Issue 4  Table of Contents Editorial Articles  Lael K. Weis, What comparativism tells us about originalism Scott Stephenson, Constitutional reengineering: Dialogue’s migration from Canada to Australia Mónica Brito Vieira and Filipe Carreira da Silva, Getting rights right: Explaining social rights constitutionalization in revolutionary Portugal   Reflections on Comparative Public Law: The German Perspective Armin von Bogdandy and J.H.H.

  • Fletcher and Carolan: Debate on “the Lost Constitution” in the UK and the US

    [Editor’s Note: In this exchange on I•CONnect, Jamie Fletcher and Eoin Carolan debate the idea of “the Lost Constitution” in conservative and libertarian politics in the United Kingdom and the United States.] The Rise of the “Lost Constitution” Argument Within Right-of-Center Politics in the United Kingdom and United States of America  —Jamie Fletcher, Lecturer in Law, University of Winchester Over the past election cycle, on both sides of the Atlantic, fidelity to the “traditional constitution” has emerged as a principle platform issue within right of center conservative politics.

  • A New Legal Definition of Religion?

    —Lorenzo Zucca, Reader in Jurisprudence, King’s College London Scientology is a religion: this much is clear in the UK Supreme Court’s December 11 ruling in the high profile case of Hodkin v Registrar. The facts of the case are simple. Mrs.

  • Egypt’s Third Constitution in Three Years: A Critical Analysis

    –Zaid Al-Ali, International IDEA [Cross-posted at ForeignPolicy.com & International IDEA] Egypt’s new draft constitution includes a number of important improvements. It contains clear language on the issue of discrimination and violence against women; it grants significant rights and affords protection to children and the disabled; the list of socio-economic rights has been lengthened and is more detailed than it has ever been.

  • Orthodox in the Extreme: India’s Same-Sex Jurisprudence in Comparative Perspective

    —Rehan Abeyratne (Jindal Global Law School) and Nilesh Sinha (Syracuse University) Last week, the Indian Supreme Court issued a controversial ruling in Koushal v. Naz Foundation. It upheld the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature.”

  • Checking Institutions and the Institutional Control of Politics

    —David Landau, Florida State University College of Law This week, the Colombian National Procuraduria [a sort of National Attorney General or Inspector General] removed the leftist, democratically-elected mayor of Bogota, Gustavo Petro, from office and banned him from participation in politics for 15 years.

  • Data Protection in Greece: The Balance Between Freedom of Press and the Right to Privacy

    —Antonios Kouroutakis, Oxford University The balance between two constitutional rights was always a jigsaw puzzle. In theory, constitutional rights are considered of equal value and in case of conflict, a de facto examination of the facts would conclude on which right should prevail.