Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL160100136
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,841,908.00
Summary
Balancing diversity and social cohesion in democratic constitutions. Balancing diversity and social cohesion in democratic constitutions. This fellowship project aims to address the need to reconcile the tensions between the pursuit of diversity and the promotion of social cohesion. This critical problem becomes increasingly urgent as nations grapple with the challenges of highly diverse multi-cultural societies. The project aims to build a team of researchers who draw on the experience of const ....Balancing diversity and social cohesion in democratic constitutions. Balancing diversity and social cohesion in democratic constitutions. This fellowship project aims to address the need to reconcile the tensions between the pursuit of diversity and the promotion of social cohesion. This critical problem becomes increasingly urgent as nations grapple with the challenges of highly diverse multi-cultural societies. The project aims to build a team of researchers who draw on the experience of constitutionalism throughout the world to investigate how Constitutions, in their design and in their application, can unify while nurturing the diversity appropriate for a complex, modern society. This project is intended to help governments, judiciaries and the public resolve intense controversies over ideals.Read moreRead less
Constituent power in federal constitutions. The concept of constituent power is fundamental to public law. This project aims to provide the first systematic and theoretical examination of the concept as it manifests in federations. The idea of constituent power was first developed in unitary states. Consequently, its role in federations has rarely been explored. Expected outcomes include a systematic comparative analysis of constituent power in federations and the development of a theory of plur ....Constituent power in federal constitutions. The concept of constituent power is fundamental to public law. This project aims to provide the first systematic and theoretical examination of the concept as it manifests in federations. The idea of constituent power was first developed in unitary states. Consequently, its role in federations has rarely been explored. Expected outcomes include a systematic comparative analysis of constituent power in federations and the development of a theory of pluralised constituent power. Expected benefits include the generation of insights into the constitutional foundations of federal systems (including Australia), new approaches to the interpretation of federal constitutions and mapping of pathways for legitimate constitutional reform.Read moreRead less
Meeting the challenges of constitutional comparison. This project offers a more genuinely global approach to comparative constitutional law. It will deepen understanding of the operation and underlying assumptions of systems of government in countries around the world, assisting Australia in its dealings with neighbours and strategic partners and in developing its own constitutional arrangements.
Understanding and Recognising Indigenous Law and Legal Systems. This project aims to analyse the written constitutions and laws of Indigenous nations in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The Project expects to generate the first comparative study of written Indigenous law. It will generate new knowledge of Indigenous legal concepts that will enable settler and Indigenous officials, scholars and members of the public to better understand and recognise Indigenous law. Expected ....Understanding and Recognising Indigenous Law and Legal Systems. This project aims to analyse the written constitutions and laws of Indigenous nations in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The Project expects to generate the first comparative study of written Indigenous law. It will generate new knowledge of Indigenous legal concepts that will enable settler and Indigenous officials, scholars and members of the public to better understand and recognise Indigenous law. Expected outcomes of this project include new knowledge that will improve the effectiveness of settler law by ensuring it responds to Indigenous values and aspirations; facilitate the design of Indigenous representative institutions; and assist the negotiation of treaties and other agreements.Read moreRead less
The court as archive: rethinking the institutional role of federal superior courts of record. This project examines the institutional role of federal superior courts of record to ground an analysis of their responsibilities as curators of a significant national archive. It will provide principles for the administration of court records that respond to the competing legal and civic demands of contemporary Australian society.
Freedom and inclusion in the modern university. This project aims to understand conflicts in modern universities over intellectual freedom and inclusiveness. Universities are important social institutions whose core values must include a commitment to intellectual freedom and to including people from different backgrounds and with different views. These values have increasingly come into tension, causing anger, division and even violence in some parts of the world. This project aims to develop a ....Freedom and inclusion in the modern university. This project aims to understand conflicts in modern universities over intellectual freedom and inclusiveness. Universities are important social institutions whose core values must include a commitment to intellectual freedom and to including people from different backgrounds and with different views. These values have increasingly come into tension, causing anger, division and even violence in some parts of the world. This project aims to develop a strong theoretical understanding of these conflicts in modern universities and will create a set of practical principles to help universities prevent or manage these conflicts. This project is expected to strengthen universities’ capacities to benefit Australian society and students and staff.Read moreRead less
Construing Statutes: The Interaction between a Statute’s Linguistic Content and Principles of Statutory Interpretation. This project aims to identify the factors that determine what legal effect a statutory provision has; what effect it has on the content of the law; in cases where its legal effect is modified by another legal rule or principle. Such cases are commonplace, but the way in which statutory provisions interact with other legal rules or principles is poorly understood. The outcome of ....Construing Statutes: The Interaction between a Statute’s Linguistic Content and Principles of Statutory Interpretation. This project aims to identify the factors that determine what legal effect a statutory provision has; what effect it has on the content of the law; in cases where its legal effect is modified by another legal rule or principle. Such cases are commonplace, but the way in which statutory provisions interact with other legal rules or principles is poorly understood. The outcome of this project will be a general methodology for construing Australian statutes which can resolve problems that existing methodologies cannot. This will provide much-needed guidance to judges, and will advance our understanding of important legal and political issues concerning the effect that statutory provisions have on the content of the law.Read moreRead less
Constitutional resilience in South Asian democracies. This project aims to find out whether constitutional design could, and should, be used to make constitutional democracies more resilient. Democratic constitutionalism is facing serious challenges, not only in new fragile democracies, but also older established ones. The project will investigate the role that the constitutional accommodation of salient ethnocultural and ideological groups, the autonomy of non-partisan constitutional watchdog i ....Constitutional resilience in South Asian democracies. This project aims to find out whether constitutional design could, and should, be used to make constitutional democracies more resilient. Democratic constitutionalism is facing serious challenges, not only in new fragile democracies, but also older established ones. The project will investigate the role that the constitutional accommodation of salient ethnocultural and ideological groups, the autonomy of non-partisan constitutional watchdog institutions, and the adaptability of the constitution to changing circumstances could play in securing its resilience against serious threats. Relying on conceptual and empirical methods, using case studies from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, to answer these questions, the project will produce a better understanding of constitutional resilience, and the features that promote it to allow constitution makers and reformers to better protect democracy, human rights and the rule of law. This will provide significant national benefit for Australia as it deepens its engagement with South Asia, and the world more generally.Read moreRead less