The Collaborative Constitution

By Aileen Kavanagh

In this book, Aileen Kavanagh offers a fresh account of how we should protect rights in a democracy. Departing from leading theoretical accounts which present the courts and legislature as rivals for constitutional supremacy, Kavanagh argues that protecting rights is a collaborative enterprise between all three branches of government - the Executive, the legislature, and the courts. On a collaborative vision of constitutionalism, protecting rights is neither the solitary task of a Herculean super-judge, nor the dignified pronouncements of an enlightened legislature. Instead, it is a complex, dynamic, and collaborative endeavour, where each branch has a distinct but complementary role to play, whilst engaging with each other in a spirit of comity and mutual respect. Connecting constitutional theory with the practice of protecting rights in a democracy, this book offers an innovative understanding of the separation of powers, grounded in the values and virtues of constitutional collaboration.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1108493262
• ISBN13: 9781108493260
• Release Date: October 2023
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 510 Pages
• Weight: 1.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"