Join Roberto Gargarella (Professor of Constitutional Theory and Political Philosophy at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella) and a panel of commentators to discuss his book The Law as a Conversation Among Equals (CUP, 2022).
This hybrid event will be held in person in the UNSW Law & Justice Building (Staff Common Room Level 2) and online via Zoom.
In a time of disenchantment with democracy, massive social protests and the 'erosion' of the system of checks and balances, this book proposes to reflect upon the main problems of our constitutional democracies from a particular regulative ideal: that of the conversation among equals. It examines the structural character of the current democratic crisis, and the way in which, from its origins, constitutions were built around a 'discomfort with democracy'. In this sense, the book critically explores the creation of different restraints upon majority rule and collective debate: constitutional rights that are presented as limits to (and not, fundamentally, as a product of) democratic debate; an elitist system of judicial review; a checks and balances scheme that discourages, rather than promotes, dialogue between the different branches of power; etc. Finally, the book proposes a dignified constitutional democracy aimed at enabling fraternal conversation within the framework of a community of equals.
Commentators: Rosalind Dixon (UNSW), Theunis Roux (UNSW)
Chair: Lisa Burton Crawford (USyd)
The GSPL Series brings together public law academics from across greater Sydney to discuss global books in the field of public law. It is convened by Professor Rosalind Dixon (UNSW), Professor Lisa Burton Crawford (USyd), Dr Harry Hobbs (UTS), Shreeya Smith (WSU), Ashleigh Barnes (Mq).