JurisTalk | The New Parliamentary Sovereignty
JurisTalk | The New Parliamentary Sovereignty
Categories: Lectures and Seminars | Intended for Anyone
D492 Loeb Building
1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, ON
Contact Information
Prof. Zoran Oklopcic, x. 1282, zoran.oklopcic@carleton.ca
Registration
No registration required.
Cost
Free
About this Event
Host Organization: Department of Law and Legal Studies, Jurisprudence Centre
Is parliamentary sovereignty still a useful concept in the post-Charter era? Once a central principle of Canadian constitutional law, parliamentary sovereignty has come to be viewed by many as being of little more than historical interest. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that the doctrine has received relatively little scholarly attention since the enactment of the Charter. But while it is undoubtedly true that the more absolute versions of parliamentary sovereignty did not survive the Charter’s entrenchment, we should not be too quick to dismiss the principle’s relevance entirely.
In this paper, Prof. Vanessa MacDonnell (Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa) suggests that some variant of parliamentary sovereignty continues to subsist in Canadian constitutional law. She also suggests that the study of parliamentary sovereignty reveals an important connection between the intensity of judicial review and the degree to which Parliament focused on the constitutional issues raised by a law during the legislative process. Parliament can expand its sphere of autonomous decision-making power relative to courts by showing that it is proactive about securing and promoting constitutional rights.
This event is in association with FPA Research Month