Constitutions and public law are often assumed to impose constraints on the scope for positive state action. Indeed, this is one reason constitutionalism has come under recent fire from critics such as Professor Martin Loughlin. This, however, need not be true. There is another more “positive” vision of the state and constitutionalism available.
Nick Barber, Professor of Constitutional Law and Theory at the University of Oxford, is one of the primary advocates of this position in his book Principles of Constitutionalism (OUP 2018). In Australia, recent work by Dr Lynsey Blayden, Professors William Bateman, Rosalind Dixon, William Partlett and Adrienne Stone make similar arguments, drawing on history, sociology and constitutional theory – including Barber’s own ideas.
In this special hybrid seminar, hosted by the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, Barber will engage in a dialogue with Bateman, Blayden, Partlett and Stone about these ideas of “positive constitutionalism” in Australia and more broadly.
This hybrid seminar hosted by Centre Director Scientia Professor Rosalind Dixon will take place in-person at the UNSW Law & Justice Building (Level 2 Boardroom) and online via Microsoft Teams. The seminar will be followed by drinks for those attending in person. Please Indicate your attendance preference in the checkout.