There'll be feel-good images out of Canberra today as parliament votes on recognition of indigenous people. But the idea that the bill represents a step forward on a constitutional referendum is simply not true.
Category: Constitutional law
Why Lincoln matters
Spielberg's Lincoln is a great political drama. It also has a message for the modern Republican Party: one day they will have to choose whether they are the party of Lincoln or the party of the Confederacy.
Australia gets used to fixed terms
The prime minister's election announcement shows up just how little flexibility she really had about the timing anyway. Australia has moved close to a fixed-term model without even trying.
Lib Dems get their revenge on electoral reform
Britain's Liberal Democrats succeed last night in frustrating a Conservative move for electoral reform – as a measure of revenge for last year's defeat over the House of Lords, but also due to their own self-interest.
Czechs give direct election a try
The Czech Republic has held its first direct election for the presidency, to replace the idiosyncratic Václav Klaus. It shows a party system in some disarray.
What if they had an inauguration and no-one came?
Hugo Chávez will be missing from Thursday's inauguration in Venezuela. It just goes to show that even the most comprehensive of constitutions can't provide for everything.
Courts, cattle and constitutions – Australia’s ailing federalism
Mountain cattle grazing in Victoria becomes a constitutional issue. The Federal Court upheld the ban, but indicated that there were still limits to Canberra's power on environmental issues.
More to liberty than gun rights
So if gun rights need to be defended as a safeguard against tyranny, why are conservatives so cavalier about trashing other safeguards?
Israeli Supreme Court backs democracy
The Central Elections Committee, a largely partisan body, had again tried to narrow the options available to Israel's Arab voters by disqualifying an anti-Zionist MP. Yesterday the Supreme Court stood up for democracy.
Egypt’s president gets his constitution
Results are now final for the referendum on the new Egyptian constitution: it was approved with 63.8% voting in favor, on a low turnout of 32.9%. That's a win for Egypt's president Mohammed Morsi, but it also means the end of the extraordinary powers he had given himself to rule by decree beyond judicial review. … Continue reading Egypt’s president gets his constitution
The World is Not Enough 