This book is the second in a series of volumes on the Sociology of Constitutions. This volume focuses on the rise of transnational constitutional laws, primarily created by the interaction between national and international courts and by the domestic transformation of international law. Through detailed analysis of patterns of institutional formation at key historical junctures in a number of national societies, it examines the social processes that have locked national states into an increasingly transnational constitutional order, and it explains how the growth of global constitutional norms has provided a stabilizing framework for the functions of state institutions. The book adopts a distinctive historical–sociological approach to these questions, examining the deep continuities between national constitutional law and contemporary models of global law. The volume makes an important contribution to the sociology of constitutional law, to the sociology of post-national legal processes and to the sociology of human rights law.

The Sociology of Transnational Constitutions

Human dignity is now a central feature of many modern constitutions and international documents. As a constitutional value, human dignity involves a person's free will, autonomy, and ability to write a life story within the framework of society. As a constitutional right, it gives full expression to the value of human dignity, subject to the specific demands of constitutional architecture. This analytical study of human dignity as both a constitutional value and a constitutional right adopts a legal-interpretive perspective. It explores the sources of human dignity as a legal concept, its role in constitutional documents, its content, and its scope. The analysis is augmented by examples from comparative legal experience, including chapters devoted to the role of human dignity in American, Canadian, German, South African, and Israeli constitutional law.

Human Dignity: The Constitutional Value and the Constitutional Right

This volume focuses on the rise of transnational constitutional laws, primarily created by the interaction between national and international courts, and by the domestic transformation of international law. Through detailed analysis of patterns of institutional formation at key historical junctures in a number of national societies, it examines the social processes that have locked national states into an increasingly transnational constitutional order, and it explains how the growth of global constitutional norms has provided a stabilizing framework for the functions of state institutions. The book adopts a distinctive historical-sociological approach to these questions, examining the deep continuities between national constitutional law and contemporary models of global law. The volume makes an important contribution to the sociology of constitutional law, to the sociology of post-national legal processes, and to the sociology of human rights law. This title is also available as Open Access.

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A Sociology of Transnational Constitutions: Social Foundations of the Post-National Legal Structure

This book presents a political understanding of socio-economic rights by contextualising constitution-makers' and judges' decision-making in terms of Ireland's rich history of people's struggles for justice 'from below' between 1848 and the present. Its theoretical framework incorporates critical legal studies and world-systems analysis. It performs a critical discourse analysis of constitution-making processes in 1922 and 1937 as well as subsequent property, trade union, family and welfare rights case law. It traces the marginalisation of socio-economic rights in Ireland from specific, local and institutional factors to the contested balance of core-peripheral and social relations in the world-system. The book demonstrates the endurance of ideological understandings of state constitutionalism as inherently neutral between interests. Unemployed marches, housing protestors and striking workers, however, provided important challenges and oppositional discourses. Recognising these enduring forms of power and ideology is vital if we are to assess critically the possibilities and limits of contesting socio-economic rights today.

Contesting Economic and Social Rights in Ireland: Constitution, State and Society, 1848–2016

This paper deals with the question of an amendment to the constitution that has been made pursuant to the formal requirements of the constitution but deviates from its basic structure. The paper explores different views regarding this question in comparative law. It also examines the applicability ofthe doctrine of unconstitutional constitutional amendments in Israel.

Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendments

This book presents a completely reconfigured understanding of the judicial role in Indian constitutional law. The author presents a completely reconfigured understanding of the judicial role in Indian constitutional law. He lucidly and critically examines the significance and status of the basic structure doctrine today. He addresses the question whether basic structure review is an appropriate exercise of judicial power or an abuse of it. He argues that much of the criticism against the doctrine emerges from a failure to adequately map the contours of constitutional judicial review. He assesses the legitimacy of basic structure review under three categories-legal, moral, and sociological. It critiques the views of major scholars including Seervai, Sathe, Austin, and Baxi. It also analyses the post Kesavananda Bharti cases and studies how the scope of the basic structure doctrine has been expanded by the court. He tries to develop an essential benchmark against which judicial performance may be assessed and the confusions currently inherent in the Indian debate on judicial activism finally eliminated.

Democracy and Constitutionalism in India: A Study of the Basic Structure Doctrine

Introduction: The Indian Supreme Court and Progressive Social Change

Judicial delays and high pendency is a serious problem that has rule of law and fundamental rights implications. Law and judicial reform in India aimed at reducing judicial delays and pendency have met with limited success since they have been almost solely focused on increasing the number of courts and such other supplydriven mechanisms without ascertaining the causes of delay. This paper argues for re-orienting law and judicial reform by engaging in empirical methods. In so arguing, this paper also exposes the difficulties in using empirical methods in India owing to the unavailability of crucial data. It also suggests some nonconventional solutions for more effective and efficient civil and criminal justice systems.

Legal and Judicial Reform in India: A Call for Systemic and Empirical Approaches

https://www.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/SitePages/pdf/The-Supreme-Court-on-2G-Signal-and-Noise-Sudhir.pdf

Sudhir Krishnaswamy

Papers

Democracy and Constitutionalism in India: A Study of the Basic Structure Doctrine

Introduction: The Indian Supreme Court and Progressive Social Change

Legal and Judicial Reform in India: A Call for Systemic and Empirical Approaches

The Supreme Court on 2G: signal and noise

Constitutional Federalism in the Indian Supreme Court