Introduction: The Negotiable Constitution: On the Limitation of Rights

(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009; Paperback Edition, 2012)

15 Pages Posted: 27 Jun 2013

See all articles by Grégoire Webber

Grégoire Webber

Queen's University - Faculty of Law; London School of Economics - Law School

Date Written: June 26, 2013

Abstract

In matters of rights, constitutions tend to avoid settling controversies. With few exceptions, rights are formulated in open-ended language, seeking consensus on an abstraction without purporting to resolve the many moral-political questions implicated by rights. The resulting view has been that rights extend everywhere but are everywhere infringed by legislation seeking to resolve the very moral-political questions the constitution seeks to avoid. First published in 2009 and re-issued in paperback in 2012, The Negotiable Constitution challenges this view. Arguing that underspecified rights call for greater specification, Grégoire Webber draws on limitation clauses common to most bills of rights to develop a new understanding of the relationship between rights and legislation. The legislature is situated as a key constitutional actor tasked with completing the specification of constitutional rights. In turn, because the constitutional project is incomplete with regards to rights, it is open to being re-negotiated by legislation struggling with the very moral-political questions left underdetermined at the constitutional level.

Keywords: rights, limitation, Constitution, legislation, specification

Suggested Citation

Webber, Grégoire, Introduction: The Negotiable Constitution: On the Limitation of Rights (June 26, 2013). (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009; Paperback Edition, 2012), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2285430

Grégoire Webber (Contact Author)

Queen's University - Faculty of Law ( email )

128 Union Street
Kingston, Ontario K7L3N6
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://law.queensu.ca/directory/gregoire-webber

London School of Economics - Law School ( email )

Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/law/staff/gregoire-webber.htm

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