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6 - Legislated Rights

From Domination to Collaboration

from Part II - Rights in Politics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2023

Aileen Kavanagh
Affiliation:
Trinity College Dublin
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Summary

This chapter tackles two prominent critiques of parliamentary Bills of Rights, namely, that they are thwarted by the Executive dominance of Parliament in Westminster systems, or that parliamentary deliberation about rights is vulnerable to policy distortion and debilitation by the existence of judicial decision making about rights. Charting a course ’from domination to collaboration’, this chapter responds that both these critiques exaggerate the drivers of dominance, with respect to the Executive and especially with respect to the courts. Drawing on recent political science scholarship in Westminster Parliaments, the chapter argues that the Executive is not as dominant and dictatorial as is assumed in popular lore. Moreover, an empirical analysis of political and parliamentary behaviour in the post-HRA era challenges the assertion that the key political actors succumb to a cringing court mimicry. Whilst remaining attentive to the dangers in both directions – i.e. in the direction of Executive aggrandisement or judicial supremacy – this chapter argues that we need to put these threats in perspective. The upshot is a complex picture of constitutional collaboration between powerful political actors, not the straightforward or simple dominance of one over the other.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Legislated Rights
  • Aileen Kavanagh, Trinity College Dublin
  • Book: The Collaborative Constitution
  • Online publication: 12 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108680929.009
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  • Legislated Rights
  • Aileen Kavanagh, Trinity College Dublin
  • Book: The Collaborative Constitution
  • Online publication: 12 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108680929.009
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Legislated Rights
  • Aileen Kavanagh, Trinity College Dublin
  • Book: The Collaborative Constitution
  • Online publication: 12 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108680929.009
Available formats
×