When Christopher Columbus (circa 1451-1506) arrived at the Bahamas in 1492, it could hardly be predicted that this would result in the most dramatic upheaval in the history of the American continent and the nearby islands. The encounter with the new world inaugurated an era of conquest, colonisation, and economic exploitation by European powers that would last for several centuries. Large numbers of Europeans settled in these newly acquired territories, bringing along their own culture and re...

This book brings together contributions from emerging African and internationally recognized scholars in the field of international human rights law and policy in general and women and minority rights in particular. Its primary aim is to further the development of African scholarship and to reinforce the international discourse on women and minority rights in a time of rapid change.

The book analyses the various challenges that impede the promotion, protection and realization of the rights of...

Using case studies and country profiles, this book places issues into social and cultural contexts and encourages students to think critically about the topics presented

This book provides a detailed analysis of the different principles that shape the constitutional background of campaign finance law. Through three indicative country specific examples, the author examines legislation and jurisprudence that reflect such principles and demonstrate the common and different approaches in this upcoming field of law as driven by different constitutional traditions.

This is the first time in legal scholarship that such an analytical effort is made to draw universal ...

Comparative Constitutional Law Documents contains a compilation of constitutions and fundamental legislative instruments from five Western democracies: the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, it provides the text of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the Treaty on European Union, and selected provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The documents reproduce...

The seventh edition of this widely utilized handbook provides a user-friendly and original and innovative introduction to comparative constitutional law, with specific reference to liberal democracies and states under the rule of law. For each area of constitutional law of such systems, a general introduction and a comparative overview is provided, followed by more detailed country chapters on that specific area. Though the book focusses extensively on selected countries, references to other ...

In 2013 Christoph Möllers published his impressive monograph, "The Three Branches.A Comparative Model of Separation of Powers". This inspirational book led to the idea to pitch it against both the agenda of us as researchers of the Institute of Public Law at Leiden Law School and our own insights, as well as that of fellow scholars in the field.

Both democratic legitimacy and the separation of powers as concepts have very much evolved alongside the state. However, over the last decades the s...

This book examines the South Asian constitutional systems (India 1950, Bangladesh 1972, Pakistan 1973, Sri Lanka 1978, Bhutan 2008, Nepal 2015), adopting a comparative law and ‘contextual’ approach. Social diversity is the main feature of this geographical region, vast in dimension, also according to its demographic profile. This is why studying this area from a legal and institutional perspective is not only a crucial need for comparative law, but also a major methodological and intellec...

Are liberal democracies in decline? If they are, what role does populism play in this? What can and should democracies do to defend their core features against ‘democratic decay’? And which features can be considered essential? These are difficult questions further complicated by the realisation that their answers depend on perspective. Populism and democratic decay are global phenomena but they play out differently in different countries and regions. They also cannot be properly understo...

In June 2020, the research center for climate law ClimLaw: Graz was officially opened at the University of Graz, Austria. As part of the festive opening, distinguished members of the Scientific Board of ClimLaw: Graz and PhD students specialising in climate law gave presentations on current opportunities and challenges in climate law. This volume assembles the essays and provides a testimony of the official launch of ClimLaw: Graz. Climate change presents one of the greatest challenges of our...