Alchemists - Questioning Our Faith in Courts As Democracy-Builders

This book presents a searching critique of excessive reliance on courts as 'democracy-builders' in states emerging from authoritarian rule.

List of contents

Preface: our court obsession; Acknowledgments; Table of cases; List of abbreviations; Introduction: an onerous role for courts as democracy-builders; 1. The core concept: democratisation; 2. The rise and limits of constitutional courts as democracy-builders; 3. The rise and limits of human rights courts as democracy-builders; 4. 'Democratisation jurisprudence': framing courts' democracy-building roles; 5. Domestic democratisation jurisprudence in action: Brazil since 1988; 6. Regional democratisation jurisprudence: shaping democracy from outside; 7. What should courts do in a young democracy? Rethinking our approach; Concluding thoughts: moving beyond our court obsession; Bibliography; Index.

About the author

Tom Gerald Daly is a Fellow of Melbourne Law School, Associate Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law at Edinburgh Law School, and a consultant on public law, human rights, and democracy-building. He has previously clerked for the Chief Justice of Ireland, and has worked at the Judicial Studies Institute and Edinburgh University's Global Justice Academy. As a consultant, he has worked on Council of Europe, European Union, International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance), and Irish government projects.

Summary

Presenting a contrarian voice against a growing trend toward ever greater reliance on courts as democracy-builders, this book is aimed at a broad community of public lawyers, political scientists, and policymakers concerned with the role constitutional courts and regional human rights courts can play in developing democracy in post-authoritarian states.

Product details

• Authors: Tom Gerald Daly, Tom Gerald (University of Melbourne) Daly, Tom Gerald Daly, Tom (University of Melbourne) Gerald Daly
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.10.2017
• EAN: 9781108417945
• ISBN: 978-1-108-41794-5
• No. of pages: 390
• Series: Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law; Cambridge Studies in Constitut; Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law; Cambridge Studies in Constitut
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > General, dictionaries; LAW / Constitutional, Courts & procedure, Legal systems: courts and procedures, Constitutional & administrative law, Constitutional and administrative law: general