Australia is now the only major Anglophone country that has not adopted a Bill of Rights. Since 1982 Canada, New Zealand and the UK have all adopted either constitutional or statutory bills of rights. Australia, however, continues to rely on common law, statutes dealing with specific issues such as racial and sexual discrimination, a generally tolerant society and a vibrant democracy. This book focuses on the protection of human rights in Australia and includes international perspectives for the purpose of comparison and it provides an examination of how well Australian institutions, governments, legislatures, courts and tribunals have performed in protecting human rights in the absence of a Bill of Rights.

Constitutionalism and Rights explores the ambivalent relationship between the American tradition of constitutionalism and the notions of rights that have emerged over the last three centuries. The six essays focus systematically on selected tensions between these two fundamental strands in the American tradition of liberty and self-government. Discussed are: ideas of rights and constitutionalism generally; mechanisms and procedures necessary to assure rights in a large bureaucratic state; rights as expressed in public welfare programs; innovations employed by the eighteenth-century Framers to achieve limited government as a means to securing fair and equal individual freedom; the dependence of rights on institutional devices and the rule of law; the need for public virtue (balancing individual rights with self-sacrifice for the common good) if the American constitutional system is to survive; and the dangers of individualism and individual rights posed by modern liberalism. The essayists are prominent scholars representing the disciplines of political science, government, and law. They all state their confidence in the American constitutional system, but they also voice doubts about the future if problems are not redressed. The editors conclude their introduction by expressing hope that this volume “will clarify some important issues and help us remember essential lessons of the past, as we continue in this great public conversation.” Constitutionalism and Rights is the first of a three-volume series examining significant features of the Constitution. The series, inspired by the bicentennial of that great achievement, consists of essays presented by scholars at three conferences on the Constitution held at Brigham Young University in 1985, 1986, and 1987, and several additional essays written especially for these volumes.

Articles on topics of American justice including Supreme Court cases, federal legislation, civil justice, the criminal justice system, types of crime, legal terms, personages, organizations, historical events, and contemporary justice issues.

"This is the first systematic analysis of the constitutional, legal, economic, social and political systems of Hong Kong as a special administrative region of China. It examines the Basic Law against its historical and socio-economic contexts, including its international and domestic foundations, and the loss and the resumption of sovereignty by China. The author offers a conceptualization of the Basic Law and locates it within China's constitutional, political and legal systems. The book explores the balance as well as the tensions between the autonomy of Hong Kong and the sovereignty of China, which are aggravated by the necessity to accommodate contrasting economic and political systems. It also identifies key legal and political problems that are likely to arise in implementing the Basic Law and suggests an approach to its interpretation." "The Basic Law provides a fascinating example of the interaction of widely different traditions of law, politics and economy, and a novel system of autonomy. Its study is therefore of great interest to scholars of comparative law and politics."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved