Book launch: Constitutional Public Reason by Professor Wojciech Sadurski
In-person event
The University of Sydney Law School is delighted to invite you to the launch of Constitutional Public Reason by Professor Wojciech Sadurski, Challis Chair in Jurisprudence, Sydney Law School.
The book will be launched by The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG.
About Constitutional Public Reason
Public reason, which urges that only laws based on principles reasonably agreeable to all those bound by them are legitimate, has rarely been applied to constitutional law, and never in a comparative way. This book aspires to fill that gap, by studying the use of public reason in different constitutional systems. In doing so, it studies public reason both as a normative idea – as a principle postulated for democratic constitutionalism, and as a descriptive account – as helping to understand many important doctrines in constitutional adjudication of some leading constitutional courts around the world, and also in the supranational sphere.
Constitutional Public Reason questions the performance of leading ‘exemplars of public reasons’, including the top courts of the United States, India, Canada, Australia, Germany, and South Africa, as well as the European Court of Human Rights. It also attempts to show how this performance can be improved in fields such as freedom of expression, non-establishment of religion, and anti-discrimination law. Ultimately, it finds that the best resonance between the ideal of public reason and constitutional interpretation is found in doctrines that locate the illegitimacy of laws in the wrongful motives (or purposes) pursued by legislators. Scrutinising motives is often as important as scrutinising consequences.
Find out more about the book and order it online here.
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Monday 15 May 2023
Time: 5.30-7pm (including a cocktail reception)
Venue: Level 4, Common Room, New Law Building (F10)
This event is being held in-person at Sydney Law School.
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About the author
Wojciech Sadurski is Challis Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Sydney and Professor of the Centre for Europe at the University of Warsaw; formerly Professor and Head of Department of Law at the European University Institute in Florence. He is author of several books, most recently Poland’s Constitutional Breakdown (2019) and Constitutionalism and the Enlargement of Europe (2012). He regularly teaches, as visiting professor, in top universities around the world, including at Yale and New York Universities.
CPD Points: 1
This event is presented by the University of Sydney Law School.