
The Collaborative Constitution
Aileen Kavanagh(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 12. June 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
508 pages
978-1-108-71753-3 (ISBN)
Description
In this book, Aileen Kavanagh offers a fresh account of how we should protect rights in a democracy. Departing from leading theoretical accounts which present the courts and legislature as rivals for constitutional supremacy, Kavanagh argues that protecting rights is a collaborative enterprise between all three branches of government - the Executive, the legislature, and the courts. On a collaborative vision of constitutionalism, protecting rights is neither the solitary task of a Herculean super-judge, nor the dignified pronouncements of an enlightened legislature. Instead, it is a complex, dynamic, and collaborative endeavour, where each branch has a distinct but complementary role to play, whilst engaging with each other in a spirit of comity and mutual respect. Connecting constitutional theory with the practice of protecting rights in a democracy, this book offers an innovative understanding of the separation of powers, grounded in the values and virtues of constitutional collaboration.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
676 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-71753-3 (9781108717533)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Aileen Kavanagh
The Collaborative Constitution
Book
10/2023
Cambridge University Press
€150.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Aileen Kavanagh is Professor of Constitutional Governance, Trinity College Dublin, and Director of TriCON - the Trinity Centre for Constitutional Governance. Formerly a Professor of Law at the University of Oxford, Aileen Kavanagh has written widely on UK and comparative public law, and on constitutional theory. Her previous books include Arguing About Law (co-edited, 2008) and Constitutional Review under the UK Human Rights Act 1998 (2009).
Content
Introduction: the Call for Collaboration; Part I. Institutions and Interactions: 1. Constitutionalism beyond manicheanism; 2. The promise and perils of dialogue; 3. The case for collaboration; Part II. Rights in Politics: 4. Governing with rights; 5. Legislating for rights; 6. Legislated rights: from domination to collaboration; Part III. Judge as Partner: 7. Judge as partner; 8. The HRA as partnership in progress; 9. Calibrated constitutional review; 10. Courting collaborative constitutionalism; Part IV. Legislatures in Response: 11. Underuse of the override; 12. Declarations, obligations, collaborations; Conclusion: the currency of collaboration.