CPL Lunchtime seminar: 'Book Discussion on 'The Collaborative Constitution''

Speaker: Aileen Kavanagh

Aileen Kavanagh will discuss her recently published book, The Collaborative Constitution (CUP 2023), followed by comments from Trevor Allan.

Abstract: Constitutional scholars have long debated whether the courts or the legislature should have the last word on rights. Rejecting the binary options of either courts or legislatures, this book argues that protecting rights is a shared responsibility of three branches of government - the courts, legislature and the Executive. On this vision, each branch plays a distinct but complementary role, whilst working together in constitutional partnership. Connecting constitutional theory to the practice of protecting rights in a democracy, this book defends a collaborative vision of constitutionalism, grounded in the values of comity, collaboration, and conflict-avoidance.

Bio: Professor Aileen Kavanagh holds the Chair of Constitutional Governance at Trinity College Dublin, where she is Director of the Trinity Centre for Constitutional Governance (TriCON). Formerly Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Oxford, Kavanagh has written widely in the field of comparative constitutional law, constitutional theory and human rights law. Her first book - Constitutional Review under the UK Human Rights Act 1998 (CUP, 2009) - was shortlisted for the Peter Birks Society of Legal Studies Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship. Her new book - The Collaborative Constitution - is published by Cambridge University Press in 2023.

The Centre for Public Law will host a series of 'current developments' and 'research in progress' seminars in Easter term. The seminars will be organised on a hybrid basis, both in-person in the Moot Court Room and online.

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