Constitutional Law in Theory and Practice

Abstract

David Beatty draws on more than twenty years' teaching experience to produce a comprehensive introduction to constitutional law, accessible to students of law and non-specialists alike. He reviews the leading cases that have come before the Privy Council and the Supreme Court of Canada concerning the BNA Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As well, Beatty reviews important decisions made by courts around the world and analyses the function judges perform in liberal-democratic societies when they enforce written constitutions that include bills of rights. Chapter 1 introduces constitutional law - what it is all about, what its function is, and how it interacts with the constitutional text. The book examines Canadian federalism law and the Supreme Court of Canada's experience with the Charter of Rights. It also looks at significant human rights cases decided by major courts around the world, showing how the same principles and methods of reasoning are used elsewhere to resolve legal disputes. The author concludes that a theory of constitutional law that puts greater emphasis on the social duties politicians must respect than on individual rights should be responsive to the concerns of both those who are sceptical about the virtues of law and the courts and those who fear Western cultural imperialism. Beatty proposes a radically new way of thinking about 'rights' - one that emphasizes the social duties inherent in the very conception of rights. By reorienting our thinking about rights and the rule of law, we can see that democratic decision-making and judicial review, rather than being in conflict with each other, support a common set of values and ideals.