Democratic Constitutionalism

2020 ◽  
pp. 210-236
Author(s):  
Kevin Vallier
Keyword(s):  
Prime Factor ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
The Right

To create trust for the right reasons, states should organize their lawmaking process to conform to democratic constitutionalism. Democratic constitutionalism holds both that the legislative process should appeal to extensive citizen input, and that government officials should convert citizen input into policy via processes that are predictable, effective, and neutral between citizens. It turns out that many elements of democratic constitutionalism create real trust, and that democratic constitutionalism can be publicly justified. We will also see that democratic constitutionalism is the most important factor in disrupting distrust and divergence, in no small part because it is the prime factor determining levels of trust in government.

scholarly journals The European Committee of the Regions as a watchdog of the principle of subsidiarity

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 284-301
Author(s):  
Salvatore Fabio Nicolosi ◽  
Lisette Mustert
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
European Committee ◽  
Legislative Proposal ◽  
The Right ◽  
Committee Of The Regions ◽  
Regional Funds ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The Eu

In a resolution adopted on 1 February 2018, the European Committee of the Regions noted that a legislative proposal of the European Commission concerning a Regulation that changes the rules governing the EU regional funds for 2014-2020 did not comply with the principle of subsidiarity. Accordingly, the Committee considered challenging the legislative proposal before the Court of Justice if the proposal was formally agreed upon. Although at a later stage the European Commission decided to take into account the Committee’s argument and amended the proposal accordingly, such a context offers the chance to investigate more in detail the role of the Committee of the Regions in the legislative process of the EU and, more in particular, its role as a watchdog of the principle of subsidiarity. This paper aims to shed light on a rather neglected aspect of the EU constitutional practice, such as the potential of the Committee of the Regions to contribute to the legislative process, and answer the question of whether this Committee is the right body to guarantee compliance with the principle of subsidiarity.

scholarly journals The Child's Right to Basic Education in Nigeria: A Commentary on the Decision in SERAP v. Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 639-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisosa Jennifer Isokpan ◽  
Ebenezer Durojaye
Keyword(s):  
Basic Education ◽  
Case Note ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

This case note focuses on the justiciability as well as the impact of corruption on the realisation of the right to basic education. Through an assessment of the decision of the ECOWAS Court in SERAP v. Nigeria, it emphasises the role of states in ensuring that corrupt activities of government officials or third parties do not affect the enjoyment of the right. It equally emphasises the role of the Nigerian courts in ensuring a justiciable right to education.

scholarly journals The role of the constitutional complaint in the legislative process: Comparative legal aspect

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (69) ◽  
pp. 833-850
Author(s):  
Nataliia I. Brovko ◽  
Liudmyla P. Medvid ◽  
Ihor Y. Mahnovskyi ◽  
Vusal A. Ahmadov ◽  
Maksym I. Leonenko
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
State Government ◽  
Legal Aspect ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
State Legislation ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Right ◽  
Heads Of State

The article deals with the role of constitutional complaint in the system of quality assurance of the state legislation, for protection of the rights and freedoms. Constitutional complaints, as well as their optimal models, require detailed research. Comparative analysis and survey are the main methods. The subject of a constitutional complaint in the model proposed by the authors may be laws or their individual provisions, regulations of heads of state, government, other statutes and regulations, individual administrative acts, judgements in specific cases. Citizens, foreigners, stateless persons, and legal entities are subjects who have the right to file a constitutional complaint. The authors attribute the following conditions of admissibility of a constitutional complaint: the presence and proof of violation of his/its constitutional rights and freedoms, the use of all other remedies to protect violated rights and freedoms, compliance with deadlines for filing a constitutional complaint in some countries, and payment of state duty. The model proposed by the authors is, however, universal, and further needs to be detailed for countries of interest.

scholarly journals Free and Frank Advice and the Official Information Act

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Kibblewhite ◽  
Peter Boshier
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Government Agency ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Good Government ◽  
Work Programme ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
Official Information

Concern exists that New Zealand hasn’t struck the right balance between two potentially competing principles of good government: officials should provide free and frank advice to ministers, and the public should have opportunities to participate in decision making and hold the government to account. Steps we have taken to address this include: strengthening constitutional underpinnings for free and frank advice (Cabinet Manual changes and issuing expectations for officials); a work programme to improve government agency practice in relation to the Official Information Act; and the Office of the Ombudsman reducing uncertainty about when advice can be withheld by issuing new principles-based guidance and providing more advisory services.

scholarly journals The Right to Effective Management in the Practice of the European Court of Human Rights

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 29-31
Author(s):  
Andrey Yu. Klyuchnikov ◽  
◽  
Vladimir S. Kruzhilin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Justice ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Right

The article is devoted to the study of the right to effective management recognized by the international justice as a complex interdisciplinary institution affecting the functioning of public authorities and local self-government, officials and courts. The authors study the principles of the right to effective management, the powers granted to persons in connection with the action of the Institute, taking into account the practice of the ECHR.

Lawmaking in China: Understanding Substantive and Procedural Changes

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 5-60
Author(s):  
Benjamin van Rooij ◽  
Annemieke van den Dool
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
The Past ◽  
Massive Growth ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Control ◽  
Health Laws ◽  
Strong Control ◽  
People's Congress

This paper provides a sociolegal overview of law and lawmaking in China. It combines existing studies with original data published by the National People’s Congress as well as new case studies of recent lawmaking processes. The paper focuses its analysis on the development of regulatory laws that seek to prevent and control risk, including environmental, food safety, land, labor, and occupational health laws. The paper finds large changes in the substance of legislation over the past two decades. Amid generally massive growth in lawmaking at all levels, national legislation has become more ambitious, with a greater regulatory burden. It has become more specific, allowing for less discretion. And it has grown stronger teeth, with greater sanctions against violations. These regulatory laws allow for more public participation, albeit within a tightly confined authoritarian space. Such substantive changes come as the process of lawmaking has evolved. While central leadership retains strong control over lawmaking, the process has become more transparent, allowing more actors to exert influence. Successful legislative entrepreneurs are able to shape lawmaking by timing their advocacy at the right stage of the legislative process and, if possible, linking it to ongoing crises.

‘As far as 90 north’: Joseph Elzéar Bernier's 1907 and 1909 sovereignty claims

Polar Record ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice Cavell
Keyword(s):  
Prime Minister ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Real Importance ◽  
The Right

ABSTRACTJoseph Elzéar Bernier's well known sector claim of 1 July 1909 was predated by a similar, but until now unknown, proclamation in 1907. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier, although eager to assert Canadian sovereignty, was unwilling to countenance the first claim because he did not think that the right time for such a gesture had yet come. However, in 1909 Bernier's action was welcomed, but only as a convenient way to counter the widely publicised American claim made by Robert Peary. In the eyes of government officials, neither of Bernier's proclamations held any real importance for Canada's northern sovereignty which rested primarily on the 1880 transfer of ownership from Britain. Bernier believed that his achievements had never been sufficiently recognised, but in fact the problem was that he himself overrated their significance.

How Arbitrary Was Tsarist Administrative Justice? The Case of the Zemstvos Petitions to the Imperial Ruling Senate, 1866–1916

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-43
Author(s):  
Natasha Assa
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The State ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Administrative Litigation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Administrative Power ◽  
The Right ◽  
Administrative Justice

One of the key principles of the modern legal state (Rechtsstaat) is the right of all citizens to seek judicial protection against unlawful acts of government officials. It stems from the fundamental principle of the rule of law that asserts that all citizens, including state officials, are equal before the law and have the right to a fair trial. Within this legal framework a distinct field of law, “administrative justice,” governs public litigation against state officials. Its domain of jurisdiction reflects complex philosophical and legal distinctions between the public and private spheres in the modern state. As legal scholars and philosophers continuously redefine the boundary between the public and private spheres, the prerogatives of government officials over the rights of private citizens continue to evolve. The key questions in the debate are as follows. Should the state guarantee an undisputed precedence of citizens’ rights over administration or should it protect its officials from widespread litigation and therefore grant them a certain degree of immunity? Should ordinary courts and laws decide disputes between government officials and private individuals, or should the state provide separate norms, judges, and procedures for administrative litigation? Should punishment for misuse of administrative power be equal to that of the breach of civil or criminal laws? Who and to what extent should be made liable for any damages incurred through misuse of administrative power?

The Thinking behind the Creation of a Basic Law for Social Organizations

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-80
Author(s):  
Liu Peifeng ◽  
Shui Bing ◽  
Deng Guosheng ◽  
Wang Ming ◽  
Ma Jianyin
Keyword(s):  
Legislative Process ◽  
Editorial Office ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Social Organizations ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Legal Forms ◽  
The Right ◽  
Civil Laws

Abstract This paper is the second from the “Salon Series on the Creation of Legislation on the Right of Association and Social Organizations”. This was a series of salons jointly hosted by Tsinghua University’s ngo Research Center, the Philanthropy and ngo Support Center, and the editorial office of the China Nonprofit Review. The formulation of a basic law on social organizations is an important issue for China’s social sector, and particularly for the social organization sector. It is also one of the conditions necessary for a transformation in the way social organizations are managed, from the current form of governance, which is achieved through administrative regulations, to management by ‘rule of law’ in the truest sense. Recently, in academic circles, many different lines of thought have developed about the formulation of a basic law for social organizations, including the argument for ‘governance through administrative law’, which adopts a public law perspective; the argument for ‘special civil laws’, which approaches the question from the perspective of private law; and the argument for a ‘combination of legal forms’. This paper explores the content of a basic law, as well as the objectives, nature of and skills involved in formulating such a law. It examines the necessity and feasibility of creating such legislation, and the key ideas that need to be transformed during the legislative process. At the same time, the paper considers the differences between this and the thinking behind other legislation such as the charity law.

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