Dixon, Rosalind; Jackson, Vicki C. --- "Constitutions Inside Out: Outsider Interventions in Domestic Constitutional Contests" [2012] UNSWLRS 53

Last Updated: 12 November 2012

Constitutions Inside Out: Outsider Interventions in Domestic Constitutional Contests

Rosalind Dixon, University of New South Wales

Vicki C. Jackson, Harvard University

This paper is available for download at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2174134

Citation

This article will be published in the Wake Forest Law Review (forthcoming, 2013). This paper may also be referenced as [2012] UNSWLRS 53.

Abstract

Increased interactions among peoples and states combined with the growth of written constitutions are creating new opportunities for “extra-territorial” forms of constitutional interpretation, that is, the interpretation of domestic constitutions by “outsiders.” This article considers the potential benefits, and dangers, of outsider interpretation. It also identifies actors relevant to the appropriateness or legitimacy of such practices, drawing from analogous rules and doctrines developed in the context of U.S. federalism and international law.