View
2
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
http://elink_cd.unimelb.edu.au/m/1/57729267/02-t21129-00a9213c7f5e400aa4d6f17393de5800/1/1/1[11/05/2021 10:37:49 AM]
Click here if you are having trouble viewing this message.
Newsletter Issue 12 | April 2021
This newsletter is published by the Constitution Transformation Network (ConTransNet) based at Melbourne Law School.
We are a network of expert scholars sharing our latest research and experiences regarding the development of
constitution-making processes, content and implementation.
New "Constitutional Cafe" podcast series launched by Melbourne LawSchool Centre for Comparative Constitutional Law
On 15 April, the Centre for Comparative
Constitutional Law (CCCS) at Melbourne Law
School launch their groundbreaking new
podcast, Constitutional Café. The podcast is a
place for scholarly but informal and fun
conversations about constitutions and
constitutional law with a global focus.
Episodes will be released each fortnight and can be listened to or downloaded at www.constitutional-
cafe.org. Alternatively, subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The podcasts are brought to you by the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies and the Laureate
Program in Comparative Constitutional Law at the Melbourne Law School.
The first episode discussed Post-Soviet Eurasian Constitutionalism and was hosted by Will Partlett, one
of the Constitution Transformation Network Convenors.
Below is a list of the remaining episodes scheduled for this semester:
Episode 2 (29 April) - "Languages and Comparative Constitutional Method", hosted by Erika
Arban.
Episode 3 (13 May) - "The Global South in Comparative Constitutional Law", hosted by Dinesha
Samararatne, one of CTN's Convenors.
Episode 4 (27 May) - "Reinventing Yourself as a Scholar", hosted by Scott Stephenson.Episode 5 (10 June) - "Constitutional Dimensions of Academic Freedom" hosted by Adrienne
Stone
http://elink_cd.unimelb.edu.au/m/1/57729267/02-t21129-00a9213c7f5e400aa4d6f17393de5800/1/1/1[11/05/2021 10:37:49 AM]
The Bougainville referendum and beyond: issues for transition
In November 2019, the people of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea (PNG)
voted on whether to pursue ‘greater autonomy’ within PNG or independence. The vote showed 97% of
the people were in favour of independence. The outcome is subject to ratification by the PNG
Parliament and in 2020, the governments of Bougainville and PNG began consultations about the way
forward. The PNG National Research Institute commissioned CTN to prepare two studies to help inform
the work of leaders in Bougainville and Papua New Guinea on future governance arrangements for
Bougainville. The first study was launched in mid-2019. The report, titled Greater Autonomy and
Independence for Bougainville: Institutional Options and Issues for Transition, compared five aspects of
governance for Bougainville under the existing arrangements, ‘greater autonomy’ and independence.
More recently, CTN has produced a second study for the National Research Institute, which was
launched in early 2021. The report is titled Institution Building in Post-Referendum Bougainville.
The Report outlines the new institutions and
governance arrangements which might be
needed to implement self-determination for
Bougainville, whatever form it takes.
Institution-building is understood broadly and
covers institutions for the internal governance
of Bougainville as well as institutions to conduct
relations with the rest of the world and PNG.
Research on Constitutional Implementation for Sustainable Peace
Peace agreements made in conflict-affected settings often call for constitutional change. As such, it is
recognised that constitutions can play an important part in sustaining peace. While it is important for
some kinds of commitments made in peace agreements to be reflected in the text of the constitution
through a process of ‘textual implementation’, these constitutional provisions must themselves be given
practical effect, through ‘substantive implementation’.
Since 2019, CTN has been implementing a project, funded by the Folke Bernadotte Academy, exploring
whether, and if so how, the implementation of constitutional aspects of peace agreements is significant
to sustainable peace and if so, in what ways and to what end. Through the Project, CTN produced a
report in 2019 which developed an analytical framework for understanding the connections between
Peace Agreements and Constitutions and tested the framework using Bougainville as a case-study. The
Report, ‘Constitutional Implementation for Sustainable Peace’ (SSRN id 3442666) examined the textual
and substantive constitutional implementation of the Bougainville Peace Agreement until mid-2019.
Since the 2019 report was released, Bougainville held a referendum to choose between "greater
autonomy" and "independence" in late 2019. Voters overwhelmingly voted in favour of independence.
http://elink_cd.unimelb.edu.au/m/1/57729267/02-t21129-00a9213c7f5e400aa4d6f17393de5800/1/1/1[11/05/2021 10:37:49 AM]
ConTransNet has now provided an Addendum to the Report on Constitutional Implementation for
Sustainable Peace, which updates the case study to take into account events to the end of 2020.
The paper revisits the conceptual problem of
the relationship between peace agreements and
constitutions. The study suggests that one
reason for the relative success of constitutional
implementation in Bougainville lay in carefully
and explicitly managing the links between the
Peace Agreement and the Constitutions of both
PNG and Bougainville at the points of peace
making and constitution making. Others may be
able to learn from this experience.
CTN convenor Dinesha Samararatne has
published an article on Groundviews Sri Lanka
titled, "The Port City Bill: Legislative Carving
Out from a Constitutional Democracy?". The
article examines a new Bill being proposed in Sri
Lanka which seeks to carve out the proposed
Colombo Port City Economic Commission for
differentiated treatment from other such
bodies. She agues that the Bill's approach is
inconsistent with the Sri Lankan Constitution.
CTN Convenor Will Partlett published an article
analysing Kyrgyzstan’s new Constitution,
adopted on 10 April 2021. It argues that the
most important changes are structural and move
Kyrgyzstan away from a checks-and-balances
system of semi-presidentialism toward a form of
presidentialism that is close to authoritarian-
style “crown-presidentialism” in the post-Soviet
Eurasian space. From a historical perspective,
the new Constitution returns Kyrgyzstan to its
tradition of executive centralism.
CTN Regional Affiliate Carlos Arturo Villagran
Sandoval has published an edited collection of
essays on constitutionalism in Guatemala.
Constitucionalismo Guatemalteco frente a lo
http://elink_cd.unimelb.edu.au/m/1/57729267/02-t21129-00a9213c7f5e400aa4d6f17393de5800/1/1/1[11/05/2021 10:37:49 AM]
Global: Estudios de una nueva generación de
voces (Guatemalan Constitutionalism in the Face
of the Global: Studies from a New Generation of
Voices) features essays from young Guatemalan
practitioners and scholars examining current
issues in constitutional law from an
interdisciplinary, comparative and critical
perspectives. The collection includes a Spanish
translation of a pathbreaking essay by CTN
Convenor Cheryl Saunders ’Towards a Global
Constitutional Gene Pool’ published in 2009.
CTN Convenor Tom Daly published an article on
"Understanding Multi-directional Democratic
Decay: Lessons from the Rise of Bolsonaro in
Brazil" in the Law and Ethics of Human Rights
Journal. The article argues that the Brazilian
experience is an important case-study for three
reasons: (1) any analysis of liberal democracy as
the perceived object of attack must be
cognizant of the history of a given state; (2) an
excessive focus on executive-led assaults on
democratic rule can impede fuller analysis of a
broader suite of relevant factors; (3) authori-
tarianism is a more appropriate analytical lens
than populism for identifying potential
democratic threats, especially in Brazil.
On 29 July 2019 the Australian Senate referred
an inquiry into nationhood, national identity and
democracy to the Legal and Constitutional
Affairs References Committee for review and
report. CTN Convenor Tom Daly, along with
Melbourne School of Government Principal
Fellow Nick Reece, made multiple submissions
to the inquiry in writing and orally. The Senate
Committee completed its inquiry in February
2021. Tom and Nick's submissions have been
widely cited in the Committee's final report on
nationhood, national identity and democracy.
http://elink_cd.unimelb.edu.au/m/1/57729267/02-t21129-00a9213c7f5e400aa4d6f17393de5800/1/1/1[11/05/2021 10:37:49 AM]
CTN Convenor Tom Daly has published a chapter
in a new publication "Towering Judges: A
Comparative Study of Constitutional Judges",
edited by Rehan Abeyratne. His chapter is titled
"Hugh Kennedy: Ireland’s (Quietly) Towering
Nation-Maker", and reflects on the contribution
made by the first chief justice of independent
Ireland.
Webinar: "Loss of Majority inParliament & Forming a NewGovernment - Constit-tional Principles& Conventions"
On 25 February 2021, Anna Dziedzic, one of
CTN's Convenors, was invited to present at the
Constitutional and Rule of Law Webinar Series,
jointly organised by LawAsia, the South PAcific
Lawyers Association, the Commonwealth
Lawyers Association and the Law Council of
Australia. Anna presented comparative insights
on the topic of no confidence votes, with a
focus on developments in the Pacific, at the
panel on 'Loss of Majority in Parliament &
Forming a New Government: The Guiding
Constitutional Principles & Conventions”. A
recording of the panel is available here.
Technical advice on establishing a newAfrican Judicial Network In 2017, CTN Convenor Tom Daly undertook a
consultancy for the African Court on Human and
Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), examining options for
establishing an African Judicial Network as a
platform for formal collaboration between
courts and other judicial bodies on the African
continent. The new ACHPR Strategic Plan (2021-
2025) commits the Court to implementing the
African Judicial Network to link the Court with
regional and national apex courts, drawing on
the design options in the concept paper.
http://elink_cd.unimelb.edu.au/m/1/57729267/02-t21129-00a9213c7f5e400aa4d6f17393de5800/1/1/1[11/05/2021 10:37:49 AM]
Workshop: "Hybridity & Legal Identity"CTN conveners Cheryl, Anna, Tom and Jayani all
participated in the 'Hybridity and Legal Identity'
workshop, which took place online in mid-
February 2021. The workshop was generously
funded by the University of Melbourne's Peter
McMullin Centre on Statelessness and the
Statelessness Hallmark Research Initiative.
The project team consist of Cheryl, Jayani, Dr
Anne Carter, Dr Zim Nwokora and Associate
Professor Patrick Emerton. Professor Kevin
Clements and Dr Volker Boege delivered a joint
keynote on which Cheryl commented. Speakers
included Dr Anna Dziedzic, Dr Sarah Phillips, Dr
Alisa Arcioni, Dr Samantha Balaton-Chrimes, Dr
Marika Sosnowski and Professor Ihsan Yilmaz.
Webinar: "Court-Packing as a CaseStudy of Democratic Reform" CTN Convenor Tom Daly presented on court-
packing as a case-study for analysing the
democratic propriety of reforms at Masaryk
University, Prague on 21 April 2021. His
presentation was titled ‘What Makes a Reform
Democratic? Court-Packing as a Case-Study?’ and
was a contribution to a bigger conference on
Changing the Architecture of Separation of
Powers without an Architect'.
Guest lecture to Victorian ministerial advisors On 29 March 2021, Jayani Nadarajalingam delivered a guest class as part of the Melbourne School of
Government's Specialist Certificate in Public Administration (Advanced), a course designed for
ministerial advisers. This is the world's first dedicated postgraduate qualification for political staff.
Jayani's class was on ethics and governance with a particular focus on "wicked problems". The guest
class is part of the "Public Sector Governance" subject, convened by Melbourne School of Government
Senior Fellow Hamish Park, former deputy chief of staff of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.
http://elink_cd.unimelb.edu.au/m/1/57729267/02-t21129-00a9213c7f5e400aa4d6f17393de5800/1/1/1[11/05/2021 10:37:49 AM]
Hot Topics in Public Law (LAWS90217)
Jason Varuhas and Cheryl Saunders will teach a
Masters subject in Semester 2 of 2021 which
discusses 11 cutting edge topics in public law.
Its primary focus will be Australia, but many of
the issues are also relevant in common law
systems elsewhere. The issues range across
constitutional and administrative law and
include, for example, proportionality, non-
statutory executive power, outsourcing and suits
in negligence against government.
Click hereto unsubscribe or to change your Subscription Preferences. CRICOS ProviderCode: 00116K
Recommended