Constitutional law and human rights Books

Book SynopsisAMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PUBLISHERS PROSE AWARD FINALIST  “Essential and fresh and vital . . . It is the argument of this important book that until Americans can reimagine rights, there is no path forward, and there is, especially, no way to get race right. No peace, no justice.”—from the foreword by Jill Lepore, New York Times best-selling author of These Truths: A History of the United States An eminent constitutional scholar reveals how our approach to rights is dividing America, and shows how we can build a better system of justice. You have the right to remain silent—and the right to free speech. The right to worship, and to doubt. The right to be free from discrimination, and to hate. The right to life, and the right to own a gun. Rights are a sacred part of American identity. Yet they also are the source of some of our greatest divisions. We belie

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Book SynopsisExplores the remarkable and complex legal history of how the right to bear arms was widely accepted during the US’s founding, was near extinction in the late twentieth century, and is now experiencing a rebirth in the Supreme Court in the twenty-first century.Trade ReviewTwo of the leading Second Amendment scholars in the nation, Robert Cottrol and Brannon Denning bring their deep expertise to this rich, detailed history of the right to bear arms. To Trust the People with Arms shows how gun rights took root and developed, from the Revolutionary era to the US Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in the Heller case—despite being abused by racists and misunderstood by others." - Adam Winkler, Connell Professor of Law at UCLA and author of We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights and Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in AmericaTable of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Constitutional Predicates 2. “Negro Laborers,” “Low-Browed Foreigners,” and the “Efficiency of a Well-Regulated Militia” 3. Arms, War, and law in the American Century 4. From Causal Acceptance to Virtual Desuetude 5. Shifting Tides 6. One Case, Many Controversies 7. A Silence Broken 8. McDonald 9. Bruen, An Unanticipated Epilogue Notes Bibliographic Essay Index

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Book SynopsisThe third edition of Parliament and the Law presents a timely and valuable resource covering recent developments. Brexit, the #MeToo movement, and the COVID-19 pandemic all presented Parliament with a series of challenges. This edition includes new chapters on Brexit, legislation and scrutiny, the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster treaty scrutiny, votes of confidence and the Fixed Term Parliament Act, and the financing of Parliament. This is a multi-disciplinary work authored by lawyers, political scientists, parliamentary officials, and practitioners and is supported by the Study of Parliament Group (SPG).Trade ReviewAnother useful volume in a highly useful series … an enormously valuable contribution. -- Daniel Greenberg * Statute Law Review *Table of ContentsForeword Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds, UK) Introduction Alexander Horne (Hackett and Dabbs LLP, UK), Louise Thompson (University of Manchester, UK) and Ben Yong (Durham University, UK) Part 1: Internal Affairs 1. Privilege, Exclusive Cognisance and the Law Eve Samson (House of Commons, UK) 2. The Law and Conduct of Members of Parliament Hannah White (Institute for Government, UK) 3. Paying for Parliament Colin Lee (House of Commons, UK) and Ben Yong (Durham University, UK) 4. Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster: A Parliamentary Governance Challenge Alexandra Meakin (University of Manchester, UK) Part 2: Holding the Government to Account 5. Parliament and Legislative Scrutiny: Lessons from Brexit and Covid-19 Louise Thompson (University of Manchester, UK) 6. Select Committees: Powers and Functions Christopher Johnson (House of Lords, UK) 7. Parliament’s Engagement with Treaties Arabella Lang (Public Law Project, UK) and Mario Mendez (Queen Mary University of London, UK) 8. Votes of Confidence and the Fixed Term Parliament Act Lord Norton (University of Hull, UK) Part 3: Parliament and Brexit 9. Brexit, Parliament and the Courts – Towards a New Relationship? Alison Young (University of Cambridge, UK) 10. Parliament and Brexit: Scrutiny under Pressure Alexander Horne (Hackett and Dabbs LLP, UK) and Jack Simson Caird (House of Commons Justice Committee, UK) Part 4: Parliament, Rights, and Devolution 11. Parliament and Human Rights Eleanor Hourigan (Joint Committee on Human Rights, UK), Alexander Gask (Joint Committee on Human Rights, UK) and Samantha Granger (Joint Committee on Human Rights, UK) 12. Ten Myths about Parliamentary Sovereignty Richard Ekins (University of Oxford, UK) and Graham Gee (University of Sheffield, UK) 13. Parliament Accountability for the Administration of Justice Gavin Drewry (Royal Holloway, University of London, UK) 14. Devolution Phil Larkin (House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, UK), Patrick Thomas (House of Commons, UK) and Graeme Cowie (House of Commons Library, UK)

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Book SynopsisThe foundational principle of this book is the sacred rights enumerated in the United States Constitution, specifically, in the Firstand Thirteenth Amendments. With the politicization of the LGBTQ movement, concern for these rights have again come to the forefront of American jurisprudence. The rights enumerated in these amendments have frequently been violated by the various states when, in the name of public accommodation laws, they have attempted to force Christian business owners and religious entities to facilitate events, provide services, express opinions, change attitudes, or to enter into associations that violate their religious consciences. The book explores what it means to have free exercise of religion, free speech, and to be free of involuntary servitude in the context of the contending rights claimed by LGBTQ individuals. LGBTQ rights are neither denied nor disparaged, but the author argues that the constitutional rights of religious dissenters should not be denied or disparaged either. He also argues that when constitutional rights clash with statutory obligations, the former always triumphs. This has always been black letter law, and remains so in all cases except those in which LGBTQ rights clash with those of Christians. The book is not just a legal monograph. It engages political, philosophical, and sociological issues such as freedom v. equality, socialism v. republicanism, the liberal-progressive agenda in higher education, and the many benefits Christianity has bestowed on Western civilization. The underlying theme, however, remains, and that theme is that if we lose the freedom of religious conscience which the founding fathers made the "first freedom", we will lose all freedom.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments; Preface; The United States Constitution: Originalism v. Living Document; The Establishment Clause: Ally or Adversary of Religious Liberty?; Religious Liberty: The Free Exercise Clause; Religious Freedom as Freedom of Speech; Religious Liberty and the Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage; Religious Liberty in the Age of LGBTQ Rights; Freedom, Equality, Discrimination, and Involuntary Servitude; Two Iconic Religious Liberty v. Anti-Discrimination Cases; Photographs, Cakes, and Pizzas; Federal Government Animus Toward Religion; Some Important Victories for Religious Liberty; Big Government and its Danger to Freedom; Concluding Remarks on the Battle for Religious Liberty; Index.

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Book SynopsisIn this updated edition of the bestselling book, Finding the Heart of the Nation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander author Thomas Mayo gets behind the politics and legal speak to explain why the Uluru Statement from the Heart is an invitation to all Australians.   Australia is set to vote on a referendum to enshrine a First Nations voice in the constitution as a result of the 2022 federal election. In this book, Thomas focuses on the stories of First Nations People, including some new voices, looking at the truth of our past and present, and hopes for a better future. Importantly, he shares with you – the Australian public – how we all have the power to make change. The campaign for Voice Treaty Truth, starting with a referendum, is an opportunity to right some of the wrongs, give First Nations People a seat at the table, and to recognise that we are a nation with over 60,000 years of continuous culture. Completing his writing just after the 2022 federal election, Thomas has included a new introduction and conclusion, as well as a call to action for all Australians. Now in a paperback format, this collection of stories offers hope and tells us how we, as Australians, may find our collective heart.

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Book Synopsis'Superb... authoritative, thoughtful and terrifying in equal measure', The Secret Barrister'Astonishing. Detailed, dispassionate and definitive. An urgent warning and work of major importance', James O'Brien0n 26 March 2020, a new law appeared. In eleven pages it locked down tens of millions of people, confined us to our homes, banned socialising, closed shops, gyms, pubs, places of worship. It restricted our freedoms more than any other law in history, justified by the rapid spread of a deadly new virus.You may have expected such a law to be fiercely debated in Parliament. But it wasn't debated at all. A state of emergency was declared, meaning the law came into force the moment it was signed. The emergency was supposed to be short but lasted for 763 days, allowing ministers to bring in, by decree over 100 new laws restricting freedoms more than any in history - laws that were almost never debated, changed at a whim and increasingly confused the public. Meanwhile, behind the doors of Downing Street, officials and even the Prime Minister broke the very laws they had created.This book tells the startling story of the state of emergency that brought about an Emergency State. A wake-up call from one of the UK's leading human rights barristers, Emergency State shows us why we must never take our rights for granted.'A riveting account of how our democracy was put under threat during the Pandemic and why we must never let the Emergency State - all-powerful but ignorant and corrupt - take over again', Lady Hale, former President of the UK Supreme Court'Clear-eyed, forensic and compelling, Wagner sets out what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic - and the lessons we need to learn', Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape ArtistTrade ReviewSuperb... authoritative, thoughtful and terrifying in equal measure * The Secret Barrister *A riveting account of how our democracy was put under threat during the Pandemic and why we must never let the Emergency State - all-powerful but ignorant and corrupt - take over again * Lady Hale, former President of the UK Supreme Court *A wake-up call for citizens to be more alert to measures ... that seek to undermine democracy * The Times, *Best Law Books of 2022* *A vital contribution to a debate we need to have * Financial Times *Piercing and profoundly troubling, this is a journey to the heart of the pandemic and the great British struggle to balance the well-being of the individual and the group. A tale of rights and misdemeanours, told with a passion of power and forensic precision * Philippe Sands, author of East West Street *Absolutely invaluable. Adam Wagner has been an indispensable guide and this is a gripping, important, definitive book * Dr Xand van Tulleken *Emergency State demonstrates why Adam Wagner rapidly became the indispensable authority on the unprecedented restrictions on liberty that accompanied the Covid-19 pandemic. Clear-eyed, forensic and compelling, it sets out what happened - and the urgent lessons we need to learn * Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape Artist *At times, Emergency State reads like a dystopian novel with a dramatic plot twist - those who wrote these draconian laws failed to follow them. The law expert who kept the receipts, Adam Wagner has written the definitive account of a unique moment in legal history * Susanna Reid *Astonishing. Detailed, dispassionate and definitive. An urgent warning and a work of major importance * James O'Brien *Fascinating. An invaluable service to historians of the pandemic, and a passionate and compelling argument for the rule of law * Baron Danny Finkelstein *A brilliant analysis of law and politics over the two years in which Britain became a virtual police state * Geoffrey Robertson QC *The service Adam did for the country and continues to do on these pages shows the brilliant nuance and proportionate review of our right to life versus the Public Health Act and some of the outrageous overreaches of power committed by the police and the sitting government. It is as gripping as a Michael Crichton novel; but more disturbing because we collectively survived the events discussed with only some of our core human rights left intact. * Jamie Klingler, co-founder of #ReclaimTheseStreets *This book is the definitive legal guide to the law of the pandemic and will serve as an important historical account of this dark and challenging period in our history * Law Society's Gazette *Adam Wagner is a masterly guide to the interaction of law, politics and culture. Anyone with an interest in freedom - and what is happening to it - should read this truly brilliant account of the pandemic and its long term consequences * Matthew d'Ancona *A book that needed to be written - and nobody could have done it better * Joshua Rozenberg *[An] invaluable new book * Jewish Chronicle *[Wagner's] rare learning is skilfully deployed in this book * Literary Review *A brilliant and necessary book about the legal mechanism and human rights hangover of lockdown * Financial Times *Interesting and important ... Wagner is a fierce and effective critic * Jonathan Sumption, Daily Telegraph *Anyone with an interest in the maintenance of good governance in a time of emergency will find much to ponder * Prospect *Here, barrister Adam Wagner's emphasis is on the drastic impact lockdown had on our personal liberty and I hope some of his conclusion will be considered by government in the awful event of another such crisis occurring * Jewish Chronicle, *Non-Fiction of the Year* *'A pithy survey and review for non-lawyers of the two-year period when - but for the brief hiatus coming out of the first lockdown - virtually every aspect of the public's behaviour was indeed the subject of the criminal law ... Emergency State is a stress test for liberal democracy and human rights' * Counsel *An informative and important opening step towards what must become a global debate as to how th eworld should respond to future pandemics of the internet age * Charles Holland, Counsel *A brilliant analysis... Emergency State is a wake-up call that reaches far beyond Covid. It identifies the toxic mix of factors that are eroding liberty in Britain as we speak * Morning Star *A brillliant analysis of how Covid was used to erode civil liberaties and sideline Parliament ... Emergency State is a wake-up call that reaches far beyond Covid. It identifies the toxic mix of factors that are eroding liberty in Britain as we speak. * Morning Star *

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Book SynopsisThe stirring collection of essays, talks and extracts by activists and former judge Albie Sachs marks more than 25 years of thinking about constitution making and non-racialism. Following the Constitutional Court's landmark Nkandla ruling in March 2016, it serves as a powerful reminder of the tenets of the Constitution, the rule of law and the continuous struggle to uphold democratic rights and freedoms.We, the People offers an intimate, insider's view of South Africa's Constitution by a writer who has been deeply entrenched in its historical journey from the depths of apartheid right up to the politically contested present. As a second-year law student at the University of Cape Town, Sachs took part in the Defiance Campaign and went on to attend the Congree of the People in Kliptown, where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955. Three decades later, shortlu after the bomb attack in Maputo that cost him his arm and the sight in one eye, he was called on by the Constitutional Committee of the African National Congress to co-draft (with Kader Asmal) the first outline of a Bill of Rights for a new democratic South Africa. In 1994, he was appointed by Nelson Mandela to the Constitutional Court, where he served as a judge until 2009.We, the People consists of some of Sachs' most memorable public talks and writings, in which he takes us back to the broad-based popular foundations of the Constitution inthe Freedom Charter. He picks up on Oliver Tambo's original vision of a non-racial future for South Africa, rather than one based on institutionalised power-sharing between the races. He explores the tension between perfectability and corruptibility, hope and mistrust, at the centre of all the constitutions. Sachs deals with the enforcement of social and economic rights and the building of the Constitutional Court in the heart of the Old Forst Prison as a mechanism for reconciling the past and the future.Subjective experience and objective analysis interact powerfully in a personalised narrative that reasserts the value of constitutionality not just for South Africans, but for people striving to advance human dignity, equality and freedom across the planet today.Trade ReviewSachs displays an acute awareness of the potency of history, reflecting on archives and their shortcomings, and the promotion of national unity through the teaching of a common past. Similarly engrossing are his reflections on the symbolic conversion of a former prison complex into the Constitutional Court, and attempts to address the spatial geography of apartheid. - Nick Branson is Senior Researcher at Africa Research Institute and a PhD candidate at SOAS, University of London.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments; Introduction; I. Initiation; The Future of Multiculturalism in South Africa: The vision of the Constitution; The Original 'Pinch-me' Moment; II. Hope and caution in exile; The First and Last Word - Freedom; III. We have to mistrust ourselves; Preparing Ourselves for Power; Perfectibility and Corruptibility; IV. Inventing a constitution; South Africa's Unconstitutional Constitution: The transition from power to lawful power; V. With clean hands and without Secrets; Why I Supported Amnesty; Meeting the Man Who Organized a Bomb in My Car; Soft Vengeance; VI. Reconciling the past and the future; Archives, Truth and Reconciliation; The Place Next Door to Number Four; Free Spirits and Ravaged Souls; Towards the Liberation and Revitalisation of Customary Law; Values, Nation Formation and Social Compacting; VII. Living constitutional law and ubuntu; Constitutional Court Simulation, Case No.2: The constitutionality of the death penalty; A New African Jurisprudence: From abstract judicial rulings to; purposive transformative jurisprudence; Equality Jurisprudence; VIII. More than crumbs from the table: Enforcing social and economic rights; Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged; Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Bringing human solidarity back into the rights equation; IX. Struggle continues; Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability; From Refugee to Judge on Refugee Law; A Conversation About the Sacred and the Secular: Same-sex marriage; Getting the Last Laugh on Rhodes; X. Are the beautiful people born?; United in Diversity; Are the Beautiful People Born?; Cases Cited; Sources.

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Book SynopsisLiberty After Freedom explores the origins of what is today considered the most important fundamental right in the Indian Constitution - the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21. This is the article which in recent years made the right to privacy as well as the decriminalization of homosexuality possible. Without a doubt, Article 21 has had the most outsized influence on the progressive development of rights in India. But the story of how this important right was birthed is deeply controversial and its passage in the Constituent Assembly divided opinion like no other feature of the Constitution. Liberty After Freedom explores the intellectual beginnings of this paramount fundamental right in an attempt to decode and unravel the controversies which raged at the time the Constitution was being crafted.Written in lucid prose and drawing extensively on the Constituent Assembly debates as well as a wide array of scholarly literature, it questions long-held beliefs and sheds new and important light on the fraught history of due process and Article 21. It is an indispensable book for the legal community and for everyone interested in the genesis of the Constitution.

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