Professors Grant Huscroft and Bradley Miller brought some of the world’s leading constitutional theorists to Western Law for a colloquium on originalism in constitutional interpretation on October 18-19. “Originalism is a diverse family of interpretative theories based on the notion that the meaning of constitutional provisions may be fixed when it is created. It is the focus of immense scholarly energy in the United States, but the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the idea early on and the Canadian legal academy has never really taken the time to engage with originalist theory as a result,” says Professor Grant Huscroft. “Meanwhile, originalist theory has grown and developed in its sophistication in the United States, developing insights from linguistic theory and analytical philosophy along the way. There’s much to be learned,” he says. The scholars invited to Western Law are leaders in shifting interpretive debates away from historically politicized and factional positions,” says Professor Bradley Miller. “They are working towards a sound account of constitutional interpretation, whatever label it may carry.” Participants at the colloquium included: Larry Alexander (University of San Diego), James Allan (University of Queensland), Randy Barnett (George Washington University), Mitch Berman (University of Texas,), Brian Bix (University of Minnesota), Andrew Botterell (Western), Stanley Fish (University of Florida), Jeffrey Goldsworthy (Monash University), Mattias Kumm (NYU), Margaret Martin (Western), Michael Perry (Emory University), Steve Smith (University of San Diego), Larry Solum (University of Illinois), Grégoire Webber (Privy Council Office) and Keith Whittington (Princeton). The originalism colloquium follows on from a colloquium on constitutional interpretation and moral reasoning held in 2006, which resulted in a book of essays entitled Expounding the Constitution: Essays in Constitutional Theory, published by Cambridge University Press, New York. Plans are underway for a colloquium on proportionality in legal reasoning, to be held in 2010.
Public Law Symposia
Leading scholars discuss constitutional theory at Western Law
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