Lord Sumption and the Limits of the Law (Hart Studies in Constitutional Law)

"In Lord Sumption and the Limits of the Law, leading public law scholars reflect on the nature and limits of the judicial role, and its implications for human rights protection and democracy. The starting point for this reflection is Lord Sumption's lecture, 'The Limits of the Law', and, spurred on by this, the contributors discuss questions including the scope and legitimacy of judicial law-making, the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the continuing significance and legitimacy, or otherwise, of the European Court of Human Rights. Lord Sumption ends the volume with a substantial chapter engaging with the responses to his lecture."--Bloomsbury Publishing. A Note on the Cover Foreword: Beyond the Limits Acknowledgements Table of Contents List of Contributors 1. Introduction 2. The Limits of Law 3. Sumption's Assumptions I II III IV V VI VII 4. Living Trees or Deadwood: The Interpretive Challenge of the European Convention on Human Rights I. Originalism or the Intention of the Drafters II. Textualism III. The 'Living Tree' or Evolutionary Approach IV. Conclusion 5. Judges, Interpretation and Self-Government 6. Judicial Law-Making and the 'Living' Instrumentalisation of the ECHR I.Don't Judges Make Law Anyway? II. How Admirable? III. Living Instruments IV. Overreach and Irrationality: Hirst (No 2) and Scoppola V. Unreasonably Extending Article 3 as an Absolute: Soering, Saadi and Hirsi Jamaa VI. Summing Up 7. The Role of Courts in the Joint Enterprise of Governing I. Polycentricity and Other False Starts II. The Role of the Courts: Partners in a Joint Enterprise III. Political Questions and Institutional Design IV. Conclusion 8. Three Wrong Turns in Lord Sumption's Conception of Law and Democracy I. Law, Politics and Judicial Law-Making II. The Concept of Democracy23 III. The Place of Polycentricity 9. The Human Rights Act and 'Coordinate Construction': Towards a 'Parliament Square' Axis for Human Rights? I. Functional Separation of Powers and the Human Rights Act II. Studies in Conflict Resolution III. Towards a Parliament Square Axis? 10. Limits of Law: Reflections from Private and Public Law I. Introduction II. Private Law: Normative Judgment and Balancing III. Public Law: Normative Judgment and Balancing IV. Normative Judgment and Balancing: Reflections V. Conclusion 11. The Limits of Lord Sumption: Limited Legal Constitutionalism and the Political Form of the ECHR I. The Limitations of Lord Sumption's Limited Legal Constitutionalism II. Political Constitutionalism and the Democratic Dependence of Courts III. The Democratic Constitution of International Courts IV. The Political Constitution of the ECHR V. Conclusion 12. A Response Index Foreword : beyond the limits / Timothy Endicott Introduction / Nick Barber, Richard Ekins and Paul Yowell The limits of law / Lord Sumption Sumption's assumptions / Martin Loughlin Living trees or deadwood : the interpretive challenge of the ECHR / Sandra Fredman Judges, interpretation and self-government / Lord Hoffmann Judicial law-making and the "living" instrumentalisation of the ECHR / John Finnis The role of courts in the joint enterprise of governing / Aileen Kavanagh Three wrong turns in Lord Sumption's conception of law and democracy / Jeff King The human rights act and "coordinate construction" : towards a "parliament square" axis for human rights? / Carol Harlow Limits of law : reflections from private and public law / Paul Craig The limits of Lord Sumption: limited legal constitutionalism and the political form of the ECHR / Richard Bellamy A response / Lord Sumption. "In Lord Sumption and the Limits of the Law, leading public law scholars reflect on the nature and limits of the judicial role, and its implications for human rights protection and democracy. The starting point for this reflection is Lord Sumption's lecture, 'The Limits of the Law', and, spurred on by this, the contributors discuss questions including the scope and legitimacy of judicial law-making, the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the continuing significance and legitimacy, or otherwise, of the European Court of Human Rights. Lord Sumption ends the volume with a substantial chapter engaging with the responses to his lecture."-- publisher's description In Lord Sumption and the Limits of the Law , leading public law scholars reflect on the nature and limits of the judicial role and its implications for human rights protection and democracy. The starting point for this reflection is Lord Sumption's lecture, 'The Limits of the Law', which grounds a wide-ranging discussion of questions including the scope and legitimacy of judicial law-making, the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the continuing significance and legitimacy, or otherwise, of the European Court of Human Rights. Lord Sumption ends the volume with a substantial commentary on the responses to his lecture.