Constitutionalism properly so called is connected to a commitment to to self-government of free and equals through law. As such it is tied not only to a distinctive normative conception of public law, but also grounds justifications for resistance and revolution.
Old Law in New Bottles: Reintroducing National Security Legislation in Hong Kong
Fifteen years have passed since the shelving of the National Security (Legislative Provisions) Bill by the HK government after mass protests. There have been no indications of when new legislative proposals might be introduced or the possible shape of such proposals. It is argued that, while the 2003 bill can serve as a starting point...
Near Misses: Avoiding Constitutional Retrogression
There has been a good deal of attention to constitutional backsliding and erosion in many democracies around the work, including established democracies like the United States, Israel and Japan. Several newer democracies have failed completely. Understanding the processes by which backsliding occurs also draws our attention to cases in which it does not. What explains...
Professional Judgment in an Era of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
There are two fundamental features of the information processing behind most efforts to substitute artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics for professionals in health and education: reductionism and functionalism. True professional judgment is at odds with the mindset of substitutive automation. Instead of reductionism, an encompassing holism is a hallmark of professional practice — an...
Pre-legislative authorisation of interception of communication – a genealogy of the warrant
This archival study of the interception warrant offers a history of a secret governmental practice. Despite the lack of a coherent archival record of interception warrants, some traces remain. They reveal the changing organisational structure in which secret surveillance was operationalised. Moreover, recurrent memos and policy notes reveal the organisational steps taken to preserve official...
Populism and social welfare constitutionalism
There seem to be left-wing and right-wing versions of populism. Most academic writing has focused on the right-wing versions. Both right-wing and left-wing populist movements are antiliberal and anticosmopolitan, with right-wing movements more comprehensive in their anticosmopolitanism than some left-wing movements. Right-wing populism is a movement of democracy against all versions of liberalism considered as...
Pragmatic Constitutional Court in Russia‘s Dual State
This paper analyzes the conduct of the Russian Constitutional Court (RCC) and its chairman, Valerii Zorkin, in an effort to explain its institutional health and longevity in the context of consolidated authoritarianism. We argue that the stability of RCC today seems to have been due in large part to the pragmatic actions of its chairman,...
Politics behind the vail of law: how fundamental rights discourse can hide excesses in judicial review. An empirical study from Brazil.
In the aftermath of the military dictatorship, the constituents for the Brazilian Constitution had the mission of compensating its citizens for the excesses of power endured. Thus, the current charter promises to uphold every fundamental right, from health to recreation. And guarantees it giving individuals ample access to courts via judicial review. Brazil has adopted...
Regulatory approaches to the Right to Privacy and the Protection of Personal Data in Europe
This presentation focuses on the regulation of a right to privacy and personal data protection. It starts off with privacy as a fundamental right enshrined in international and European Human Rights regimes and focuses specifically on the integration of personal data protection therein. It will show how both individual legitimate expectation and human dignity has...
Reforming Politics or Refining Policies: A China Perspective
China has been demanding policymaking accountability since the late 1990s. By continuously reforming its policymaking procedure and establishing various “Americanized“ mechanisms, China adopted procedures that are quite similar to the western democracies in administrative policymaking, such as participation, evaluation and transparency. This paper characterizes China‘s reform as an initiative to “democratize“ China‘s executive administrative decision-making...