A theme which will run throughout the course will be the tensions between authority and justification and how public law (constitutional and administrative law) can accommodate and help to resolve these tensions. It will engage with dialogue theory, theories about democratic reinforcement, political constitutionalism, theories of constitutional collaboration and justification, and constitutional pluralism.
The first semester will consist of seminars led by the lecturer, which will involve discussion of readings that address various topics such as bills of rights models, constitutional conventions and the unwritten constitution, the basis and limits of judicial review, the challenges from tikanga and te tiriti o Waitangi, constitutional development, “backsliding” and change. While there will be a focus on Aotearoa New Zealand, students will be encouraged to engage with other constitutional systems and constitutional theory more generally. The second semester will consist of seminar presentations by students on their chosen topics of research.