Western Law hosted an elite group of legal philosophers and constitutional law scholars to discuss the interpretation of constitutions and constitutional rights. Seventeen papers were discussed at the colloquium called “Interpreting the Constitution”, which was held October 13-14, 2006. The colloquium, organized by Professor Grant Huscroft and Drs Randal Graham and Bradley Miller of Western Law, included participants from the United States, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as Canada. International participants included TRS Allan (Cambridge), James Allan (Queensland), Larry Alexander (San Diego), Simon Evans (Melbourne), Jeffrey Goldsworthy (Monash), Aileen Kavanagh (Leicester), Paul Rishworth (Auckland), Steven Smith (San Diego), Adrienne Stone (Australian National University), and Jeremy Waldron (NYU). Canadian participants included Jamie Cameron (Osgoode Hall), Genevieve Cartier (Sherbrooke), David Dyzenhaus (Toronto), Joanna Harrington (Alberta), Lorne Sossin (Toronto), and Wil Waluchow (McMaster). Debate ranged over some of the most pressing and fundamental questions presented by constitutions in the common law world. Which institutions (the courts? the legislature?) are to interpret constitutions authoritatively? What resources (critical morality? constitutional morality?) can they use in the process? Is it legitimate for courts to rely on ‘unwritten constitutional principles’ when invalidating the democratically enacted statutes? Professor Huscroft described the colloquium as a high point of the year. “It is a rare privilege to be able to host such a distinguished group of scholars”, he said. “There is real commonality in the constitutional issues facing the common law legal systems, and we profit undeniably from collaboration with each other. This was a great opportunity to debate the issues common to our respective legal systems. The insights generated from this colloquium should be of interest not only to political theorists and moral and legal philosophers, but to politicians, judges, and anyone interested in the proper functioning of our basic institutions.” Essays from the colloquium were published in a book entitled "Expounding the Constitution: Essays in Constitutional Theory"(New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008) edited by Prof. Grant Huscroft.
Public Law Symposia
Interpreting the Constitution
Discussions focused on moral reasoning and its place in constitutional law; judicial review and institutions of government; and the rule of law and unwritten constitutional rights.
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