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Judicial Activism in Common Law Supreme Courts

Judicial Activism in Common Law Supreme Courts

Author: Brice Dickson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199213290
Published In: December 2007
Format: Hardback , 506 pages
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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Covers nine different common law countries including Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States
Introductory chapter compares the main features of the nine top courts and summarises the subsequent country-specific chapters
The analysis in each chapter focuses on the relationship between the role of the top courts and role of the legislature and executive

This book examines the way in which judges in the top courts of nine different common law countries go about developing the law by devising new principles to allow themselves to be innovative and justice-oriented, and to ensure that human rights are universally protected.

The book surveys the decisions of these top courts over the last generation to determine how 'judicially active' they have been. It seeks to compare and contrast the different experiences and to identify the principles in accordance with which the various courts have decided to develop the law. How do they interpret legislation? What use do they make of standards derived from other countries or from international law? How willing are they to make law in areas which are traditionally the preserve of elected politicians?

The contributors are all experts in their own jurisdictions and have already published widely in the field of judicial activism. The jurisdictions covered include Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. The chapter on the judicial work of the House of Lords anticipates the transformation of that institution into the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009 and the book as a whole suggests that there is plenty of scope for that new court to learn from other common law supreme courts about the appropriate limits of judicial creativity.

Readership: Judges; scholars, legal academics, and advanced students in the fields of public international law, comparative law, constitutional & administrative law, and common law legal systems; and academic libraries.

1: Brice Dickson: Introduction
2: Fiona Wheeler and John Williams: The High Court of Australia
3: Kent Roach: The Supreme Court of Canada
4: Venkat Iyer: The Supreme Court of India
5: William Binchy: The Supreme Court of Ireland
6: Eli Salzberger: The Supreme Court of Israel
7: Bruce Harris: The Supreme Court and Court of Appeal of New Zealand
8: Hugh Corder: The Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
9: Brice Dickson: The House of Lords
10: Mark Tushnet: The Supreme Court of the United States

Edited by Brice Dickson, Professor of International and Comparative Law, Queen's University Belfast
Contributors:
Brice Dickson, Queen's University Belfast
Fiona Wheeler, Australian National University
John Williams, Australian National University
Kent Roach, University of Toronto
Venkat Iyer, University of Ulster
William Binchy, Trinity College Dublin
Bruce Harris, University of Auckland
Hugh Corder, University of Cape Town
Mark Tushnet, Harvard University
Eli Salzberger, University of Haifa