The Constitution of Independence

The Constitution of Independence is a contribution to the newly rejuvenated subject of comparative Commonwealth constitutional law, politics, and history. In Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, a series of fascinating developments have been under way for more than a decade, characterized by independent thinking, experimentation, and cross-Commonwealth borrowing of constitutional ideas. These include the final termination of constitutional ties with the United Kingdom Parliament (completed in each country's case in the 1980s) and the emergence of controversial issues including variably entrenched or implied rights and freedoms; wide-ranging claims by indigenous peoples; republicanism; and assertions of national, popular, and sectional sovereignty. This book explores the development of constitutional thinking in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand from early domination by Imperial ideas, through the adoption of the Statute of Westminster and the contemplation of severing Imperial connections, to irreversible acquisition of constitutional independence in the 1980s.This book focusses primarily on sovereignty and the legal system, concepts which are also central to contemporary constitutional theory in Europe and the United States. The book closes with an evaluation of recent varied and often contradictory accounts of the constitutional foundations of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, which depict a wide range of scenarios: from constitutional continuity and respect for the rule of law, to popular sovereignty and disguised revolution. Oliver argues that explanations of constitutional independence are characterized by their reliance on independent, country-specific constitutional thinking that evolved over the last century. on

ISBN 0198268955   Pages 392 ISBN13 9780198268956 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Oxford University Press   Weight (grammes) 733 Imprint Oxford University Press   Published in Oxford Format Hardback   Height (mm) 234 Publication date 07 Apr 2005   Width (mm) 156 Library of Congress 2004029483   Spine width (mm) 27 DEWEY 342.94   Academic level Professional / Scholarly DEWEY edition DC22

1		Introduction		1
2		The imperial dominions		27
3		Parliamentary sovereignty in the empire and commonwealth : Dicey's dominions and dogmas		54
4		Theories of parliamentary sovereignty after 1931 : new and revised		76
5		Canada I : confederation and the imperial theory		111
6		Canada II : an independent constitutional theory		135
7		Canada III : the Patriation reference		160
8		New Zealand : Waitangi, Westminster and Wellington		185
9		Australia I : colonies, conventions and the constitution		202
10		Australia II : Westminster to Canberra		221
11		Legal continuity or disguised revolution?		251
12		Theoretical approaches to sovereignty and legal system		285
13		Constitutional continuity and constitutional independence		315
14		Conclusion		337

Oliver has provided scholars..with a subtle, dense but always lucid account which adds a new historical, comparative, and conceptual sharpness. Edinburgh Law Review an excellent example of how history and legal theory can be mutually illuminating David Dyzenhaus, Public Law A work of formidable scholarship ... scholarly, rigorous and illuminating Andrew McDonald, Law and Politics Book Review A fascinating read. The Commonwealth Lawyer

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