Democratic Dialogue and the Constitution
On Monday 5th June, Alison Young launched her new book Democratic Dialogue and the Constitution in Trinity College. The book explores forms of dialogue between legislatures and judiciaries and distinguishes our notion of ‘dialogue’ from theories of legal and political constitutionalism. Alison analyses mechanisms of inter-institutional interactions, and assesses whether these interactions provide a better protection of rights, facilitate deliberation, engage citizens, and act as an effective check and balance between institutions of the constitution. Alison Young is Professor of Public Law in the University of Oxford, and the book was published with Oxford University Press.
To discuss the book, a panel consisted of Michael Gordon (Liverpool), Hayley Hooper (Cambridge) and Kate O’Regan (Oxford). Thoroughly recommending the book to others, the commentators pointed out the tough task of establishing notions of ‘dialogue’ within constitutional law, and drew comparative insights on how the book’s findings could apply to other case studies around the world.
The event was co-sponsored by the Oxford Human Rights Hub and the Programme for the Foundations of Law and Constitutional Government.