Parliamentary Bills of Rights: The Experiences of New Zealand and the United Kingdom: 11 (Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law, Series Number 11) - Hardcover

Hiebert, Janet L.; Kelly, James B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 110707651X ISBN 13: 9781107076518

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2015

Synopsis

Both New Zealand and the United Kingdom challenge assumptions about how a bill of rights functions. Their parliamentary bills of rights constrain judicial review and also look to parliament to play a rights-protecting role. This arises from the requirement to inform parliament if legislative bills are not compatible with rights. But are these bills of rights operating in this proactive manner? Are governments encountering significantly stronger pressures to ensure legislation complies with rights? Are these bills of rights resulting in more reasoned deliberations in parliament about the justification of legislation from a rights perspective? Through extensive interviews with public officials and analysis of parliamentary debates where questions of compliance with rights arise (prisoner voting, parole and sentencing policy, counter-terrorism legislation, and same-sex marriage), this book argues that a serious gap exists between the promise of these bills of rights and the institutional variables that influence how these parliaments function.

About this title

Book Description:

This book examines how the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and the UK's Human Rights Act influence legislative decision-making and explores to what extent governmental and parliamentary behaviours have changed on key policy issues which present serious challenges for contemporary democracies in an age of rights.

About the Author:

Janet L. Hiebert is a professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen's University, Ontario.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 110707651X
• ISBN 13: 9781107076518
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 504