Friday 16 November 2012 at 17:00
Public Law Discussion Group
Judging Social Rights
Speaker: Dr Jeff King, Senior Lecturer in Law, UCL
Venue: Oxford Law Faculty The Cube
Dr Jeff King (UCL) will present his recently published book 'Judging Social Rights'.
Countries that now contemplate constitutional reform often grapple with the question of whether to constitutionalize social rights. This book presents an argument for why, under the right conditions, doing so can be a good way to advance social justice. In making such a case, the author considers the nature of the social minimum, the role of courts among other institutions, the empirical record of judicial impact, and the role of constitutional text. He argues, however, that when enforcing such rights, judges ought to adopt a theory of judicial restraint structured around four principles: democratic legitimacy, polycentricity, expertise and flexibility. These four principles, when taken collectively, commend an incrementalist approach to adjudication. The book combines theoretical, doctrinal, empirical and comparative analysis, and is written to be accessible to lawyers, social scientists, political theorists and human rights advocates.
For more information please see the event website or contact: Paolo Ronchi Stephen Dimelow
Interested in this subject? View our Human Rights Law page.
Organised by the Public Law Discussion Group
