Paul Daly
February 24, 2025
Next up in in this year’s Administrative Law & Governance Colloquium is Professor Aileen Kavanagh (Wednesday, February 26, 11.30 Ottawa time).
She will be discussing her wonderful book The Collaborative Constitution:
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.
Join us at this link.
Here is more about Professor Kavanagh:
Professor Aileen Kavanagh is Professor of Constitutional Governance at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Law, where she also serves as Director of TriCON—the Trinity Centre for Constitutional Governance. Prior to her current position, she was a Professor of Law at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on UK and comparative public law, constitutional theory, and human rights. Professor Kavanagh has authored several influential works, including The Collaborative Constitution (2022), which explores the dynamics of constitutional interpretation and governance. She is an active member of the academic community, serving on the Advisory Board of the International Journal of Constitutional Law. Her contributions have significantly impacted contemporary discussions on constitutional law and governance.
This content has been updated on February 24, 2025 at 14:04.