The Attorney General, Politics, and the Public Interest. Contributions to an Evolving Constitutional Convention

The prosecutorial independence of the Attorney General (AG) is a firmly established constitutional convention in Canada, but it is also an evolving convention, subject to ongoing contestation and debate. This article is a contribution to that debate. It defends a normative constitutional framework wherein the AG’s authority to make final decisions in matters of criminal prosecution is balanced against a corresponding duty to consult with cabinet and the prime minister on the public interest implications of prosecutorial decisions when the circumstances warrant. Within this normative framework, respectful contestation and debate amongst ministers, the prime minister, and the AG in determining the public interest merits of prosecution is welcomed, even encouraged, and if conducted with the requisite integrity, objectivity, and transparency, it is regarded not as a threat but as a valuable check and balance on AG independence and an indispensable form of quality control on the exercise of prosecutorial discretion.

Chile constitutional convention may struggle to agree

Significance The process of drafting a new constitution is scheduled to be completed by July 4. A period of public hearings is drawing to a close and the convention’s seven permanent commissions are starting to discuss, draft and vote on articles to be submitted to the plenary. Impacts The constitutional process will be one of the defining issues of the new president’s mandate. Investor sentiment will remain cautious until there is more clarity on the new constitution’s impact on business. The right’s lack of representation in the convention may undermine its credibility.

The circular economy can have oligarchic tendencies in socially-unequal countries: evidence from Chile.

The Sustainable Development Goals include both increasing recycling rates and reducing socioeconomic inequalities. However, existent research lacks attention to the link between advancing towards the circular economy and concentration of wealth and political power. This article analyzes the case of Chile, one of the most income-unequal countries in the world, which between 2014 and 2020 implemented a registry of polluters, an extended producer responsibility legislation, and called for elections to establish a Constitutional Convention to set a new rule of law for the country. The authors of this study innovate by analyzing both economic concentration and political linkages among waste valorization companies. The results show a tendency towards higher concentration in already concentrated waste markets, and a continuous rise in the share of the valorisation market by politically-linked companies. The coexistence of oligopoly, oligopsony and oligarchic tendencies should be considered when analyzing the circular economy in other countries.

Gender and Rules of Procedure in Constituent Processes: A Comparative Discussion in Support of the Chilean Constitutional Convention

On 6 August 2021 International IDEA, in partnership with the Law Faculty of UniversidadAdolfo Ibáñez, Corporación Humanas and ComunidadMujer, held a virtual seminar on gender and rules of procedure in constituent processes. Its objective was to share comparative information about designing rules of procedure (regulations) for constituent processes from a gender-equality perspective with members of the newly constituted Chilean Constitutional Convention, Chilean civil society, academics and legal practitioners. The open-invitation online event brought together a panel of women constitution-makers from constituent processes in Bolivia, Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia. The experts discussed their respective experiences and the benefits and drawbacks of the rules of procedure that guided their constituent processes. Representatives from the implementing partners moderated expert panel sessions and question-and-answer discussions.

Mechanisms for Indigenous Representation, Participation and Consultation in Constitutional Systems: International Examples to Inspire Chile

Indigenous peoples in Chile have suffered dispossession and discrimination by colonizing forces, like many Indigenous peoples globally, and did not have a fair say in the development of successive constitutions establishing new political systems on their land. In the October 2020 referendum, Chileans voted to create a new constitution. This presents an opportunity for Indigenous peoples to create a fairer power relationship with the Chilean state. For the first time, the constitutional convention includes a specific quota for 17 Indigenous representatives. This will enable Indigenous peoples to contribute to the constitutional design process. This report presents comparative examples of self-determinative institutional mechanisms that empower Indigenous peoples to be heard by and influence decision making in state institutions. The focus of the paper is on options for institutional structures that enable Indigenous representation, participation and consultation with respect to Indigenous peoples’ own affairs.

"From confederation to federation: transformation of the USA state structure between 1777 – 1789 "

The study examines the ideological foundations and prerequisites for the independence of the British colonies in North America. We examine the construction of the state system, first passing through the confederate model of state organization, which is the closest to the traditions of the colonial period. However, it failed due to some "defects" of the Articles of Confederation of 1777, the main one being the lack of financial security to pursue union politics. In 1787, the Constitutional Convention drafted a constitution for the United States, with centralism and unitarism prevailing in the discussions, abandoning some of the principles that prompted the Americans to begin the struggle for independence. The Constitution of 1787 and the Declaration of Rights, adopted two years later, put into practice the ideas of the European Enlightenment, supplemented by English parliamentary theory and practice. This creates a solid foundation for the development of the United States and the prosperity of the young "nation."

“Thirty Lashes, Well Laid On”

This chapter begins with the first importation of African slaves into colonial Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. As their numbers grew, and interracial sex produced mixed-race (called “mulatto”) children, White colonists responded with a law designating all mulatto children as slaves, overturning a grant of freedom to Elizabeth Key, a mulatto indentured servant who married a young English settler and had a child with him. The chapter discusses the Slave Codes that stripped Blacks of any rights. Slave states also banned the teaching of slaves to read and write, lest they read “incendiary” publications and revolt, as some did. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the personal conflicts over slavery felt by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and the role of Madison at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 in crafting the Great Compromise that legalized slavery as the price of creating a federal government.

Social-Environmental Conflicts in Chile: Is There Any Potential for an Ecological Constitution?

Social unrest is on the rise worldwide amid deepening inequalities, environmental degradation, and job crises worsened by increasing social-environmental conflicts. In Chile, a social revolt in 2019 resulted in a national referendum in 2020. An ample majority (78.3% vs. 21.7%) voted to draft a new constitution to replace the current constitution drawn up under dictatorship. The result led to the emergence and empowerment of several organizations demanding an “ecological constitution”. In this context, we aim to analyze: (1) the main social-environmental conflicts in Chile and how they are related to the country’s current constitution, and (2) the potential drafting of an ecological constitution that addresses these conflicts. Across different industries in Chile, we observed common problems that are intrinsically related to the current constitution. This relationship seems to be perceived by Chilean citizens since a survey carried out in May 2021 found 79% support for an ecological constitution. Moreover, 105 of the 155 delegates to the constitutional convention proposed three or more environmental principles to be included in the new constitution. A potential ecological constitution entails principles that would improve the current situation of social-environmental conflicts in Chile. Based on our analysis, we recommend the establishment of watershed-based “territorial rights” in the new Chilean constitution to improve sustainability and environmental justice.