Topics in Comparative Constitutionalism: 'Separation of Powers and Constitional Review'

Topics in Comparative Constitutionalism

In this seminar series, we will discuss some key topics in comparative constitutionalism, drawing out some of the theoretical questions which underpin them.

The seminars will be led by Aileen Kavanagh who is joined by a visiting speaker.  Each seminar will start with a short presentation by each of the speakers, followed by a roundtable discussion.  The seminars will look closely at just two or three readings, mostly from recently published work or work-in-progress by the speakers.  The readings are hyperlinked below so that people can read them in advance and join in the roundtable discussion. The speakers will assume that most people are familiar with the papers.

The seminar is not associated with any particular course or examination, but all are welcome to attend.  The seminar may be of interest to graduate students in the Law Faculty, especially BCL/MJur students taking Constitutional Theory, Comparative Human Rights and Comparative Public Law, or to research students working in the areas of constitutional law, constitutional theory or comparative constitutional law.

Seminar 2: Separation of Powers and Constitutional Review (with Dimitrios Kyritsis)

This seminar will engage with the topic of the separation of powers.  It will contrast Dimitrios Kyritsis’s understanding of that doctrine as presented in his new book Where Our Protection Lies: Separation of Powers and Constitutional Review (OUP, 2017) with an influential paper by Jeremy Waldron.

• Dimitrios Kyritsis, Our Protection Lies: Separation of Powers and Constitutional Review (OUP, 2017), Chapter 2 and first two sections of Chapter 4 (available on Oxford SOLO)
• Jeremy Waldron, ‘Separation of Powers in Thought and Practice’ [2013] BCL Rev 433