The Rule of Law: The Role of Judicial Review in Promoting Human Rights and Social Reform

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Sampson
Keyword(s):  
Judicial Review ◽  
Review Process ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
State Legislation ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Proportionality Test

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the expanded scope of judicial review after the introduction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 and the subsequent power of courts to strike down legislation that violates constitutional rights. Subsequent interpretations of the Charter have transformed such rights into litigation tools and sources of empowerment capable of mobilizing forces for social change. Through an analysis of major cases and rulings, the paper will argue that the adoption of the Charter and the constraints existent upon popularly controlled institutions have established  judicial systems as the primary guarantors of citizen and minority rights and the active instigators ofsocial reform in Canadian civil society. Each of the chosen cases bears monumental political and legal significance. R. v. Oakes created a proportionality test used to assess and potentially remove state legislation infringing on Charter‐protected liberties; R. v. Morgentaler decriminalized abortion and represented a definitive judicial foray into a contentious ethical and political debate; Vriend v. Alberta removed the last bastion of sanctioned discrimination against homosexuals, providing a foundation for The Same Sex Marriage Reference and finally Halpern v. Canada rendered Ontario the first jurisdiction in North America to recognize same‐sex marriage. The paper will also address the limited capacities of legislative bodies to meet demands for reform, leaving them to assume chiefly reactive roles. Finally, it will examine and evaluate criticism levied at the judicial review process, with particular attention paid toaccusations of anti‐majority and undemocratic tendencies.  

The Role of Courts in Rifted Democracies

1999 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Gavison
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
Public Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Independent Judiciary ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Harsh Criticism

A discussion of the role of courts in Israel today demands some introductory remarks. The Supreme Court and the President of the Supreme Court enjoy great acclaim and respect within Israel and abroad, but have recently come under attack from a variety of sources. These attacks are often confused, and many of them are clearly motivated by narrow partisan interests and an inherent objection to the rule of law and judicial review. But these motives do not necessarily weaken the dangers which the attacks pose to the legitimacy of the courts in general, and the Supreme Court in particular, in Israel's public life. The fact that in some sectors extremely harsh criticism of the court is seen to be an electoral boost, testifies to the serious and dangerous nature of the threat. This situation creates a dilemma for those who want a strong and independent judiciary, believing it is essential for freedom and democracy, but who also believe that, during the last two decades, the courts have transgressed limits they should respect. The dilemma becomes especially acute when the political echo sounds out in one's criticism, and when one is part of the group that believes that the legal and the judicial systems have made some contribution to the prevalence of these hyperbolic and dangerous attacks, as I am.

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 Sexual rights, Religion and Post-Neoliberalism in Argentina (2003–2015)

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-101
Author(s):  
Daniel Jones ◽  
Lucía Ariza ◽  
Mario Pecheny
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Politics ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Sexual Rights ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Pope Francis ◽  
Religious Actors

This paper examines the relation between sexual politics and post-neoliberalism/populism in Kirchners’ Argentina between 2003 and 2015, focusing on the role of religious actors. Despite the opposition of religious leaders, including that of Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio (now Pope Francis), Argentina advanced in the recognition of gender and sexual rights during the Kirchners’ administrations. Conflicts around gender and sexuality, particularly around same-sex marriage, explain some of the tensions between political and religious actors in the period. The focus of this paper on sexual politics shows that the Kirchners’ administrations, unlike other traditional populist or post-neoliberal administrations, had a strong liberal component, which explains the tensions between that populist government and conservative religious actors.

Περιμένοντας τους Bαρβάρους. Law in a Time of Constitutional Crisis.

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
Judicial Independence ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
European Dimension

Περιμένοντας τους Bαρβάρους. Law in a Time of Constitutional Crisis is not a typical celebratory book offered to the dedicatee for an academic jubilee. The studies offered to Professor Mirosław Wyrzykowski present the readers with essays analysing the most pressing problems of modern constitutionalism in its European dimension. The primary themes of the book are topics dear to Wyrzykowski: the rule of law, human rights, the crooked paths of European constitutionalism, and last, but not least, one that binds them all: judicial independence and judicial review, as well as the role of the courts in upkeeping the rule of law.

Same-Sex Relationships

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna L. Grossman ◽  
Lawrence M. Friedman
Keyword(s):  
Family Law ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Marriage And Family ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Traditional Marriage ◽  
The Right ◽  
Constitutional Analysis

This chapter describes what might be the last battleground over “traditional” marriage—same-sex marriage, and the social and legal revolution that brought us from an era in which it was never contemplated to one in which, depending on the state, it is either expressly authorized or expressly prohibited. Same-sex marriage has posed—and continues to pose—a challenge to traditional definitions of marriage and family. But, more importantly, the issue implies broader changes in family law—the increasing role of constitutional analysis; limits on the right of government to regulate the family; and the clash between the traditional family form and a new and wider menu of intimate and household arrangements, and all this against the background of the rise of a stronger form of individualism.

15. Introduction to judicial review

2021 ◽  
pp. 356-374
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett
Keyword(s):  
Judicial Review ◽  
Review Process ◽  
Public Law ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Locus Standi ◽  
Government Power ◽  
Executive Action ◽  
And Control ◽  
Public Bodies

This chapter looks at the purpose and constitutional significance of judicial review. Where public bodies overreach themselves by acting unlawfully, the judicial review process allows individuals to hold public bodies to account in the courts, ensuring that governmental and public powers are lawfully exercised. This maintains the rule of law by helping to protect the public from the arbitrary or unreasonable exercise of government power. Judicial review is therefore a powerful check and control by the courts on executive action, but it also raises issues of whether the process gives the judiciary too much power over the elected government. There are three preliminary or threshold issues that a claimant needs to satisfy when bringing a judicial review claim. To be amenable to judicial review, the claim must raise a public law matter; it must be justiciable; and the claimant must have standing (locus standi).

scholarly journals SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND THE SAME OLD CONSTITUTION*

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (2 & 3) ◽  
pp. 2005
Author(s):  
Ronalda Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Do So

The Reference re Same-Sex Marriage1 is not a major opinion on the rights of same-sex couples in Canada, but it is nonetheless an important and fascinating case. There are only a few lines that are about the “rights” of same-sex couples. Did the Supreme Court of Canada “duck” the issue? Was the Court carefully gauging how much or little political capital it had and making a political decision to say as little as possible on this topic? The Court certainly displayed strategic brilliance, but it did not do so in the name of avoiding the “political” hot topic of same-sex marriage. It is factually difficult to maintain the view that the Supreme Court of Canada is loath to enter into this political debate. It has been the lead social institution in Canada in terms of responding to the claims of gays and lesbians to equality in law,2 and it has never been shy of dealing with topics simply because they involve controversial political issues.3 Rather, the Court’s brilliance lies in its minimalist and almost weary tone. This approach had the effect of taking the wind out of the sails of those opposed to same-sex marriage: the same-sex advocates definitely win the constitutional race, but they do so because according to the Supreme Court, there is no provincial constitutional headwind that can stop them. In short, provinces can complain all they want about the federal position in favour of same-sex marriage, but the wedding will go on despite and over their objections to the ceremony.

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