The Constitution of Independence is a contribution to the newly rejuvenated subject of comparative Commonwealth constitutional law, politics, and history. In Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, a series of fascinating developments have been under way for more than a decade, characterized by independent thinking, experimentation, and cross-Commonwealth borrowing of constitutional ideas. These include the final termination of constitutional ties with the United Kingdom Parliament (completed in each country's case in the 1980s) and the emergence of controversial issues including variably entrenched or implied rights and freedoms; wide-ranging claims by indigenous peoples; republicanism; and assertions of national, popular, and sectional sovereignty. This book explores the development of constitutional thinking in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand from early domination by Imperial ideas, through the adoption of the Statute of Westminster and the contemplation of severing Imperial connections, to irreversible acquisition of constitutional independence in the 1980s. This book focusses primarily on sovereignty and the legal system, concepts which are also central to contemporary constitutional theory in Europe and the United States. The book closes with an evaluation of recent varied and often contradictory accounts of the constitutional foundations of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, which depict a wide range of scenarios: from constitutional continuity and respect for the rule of law, to popular sovereignty and disguised revolution. Oliver argues that explanations of constitutional independence are characterized by their reliance on independent, country-specific constitutional thinking that evolved over the last century. on

Joint-Second Prize Winner of the Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship, 2006

About the Author
Peter Crawford Oliver is Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, King's College London.

Reviews
Oliver has provided scholars..with a subtle, dense but always lucid account which adds a new historical, comparative, and conceptual sharpness. * Edinburgh Law Review *
an excellent example of how history and legal theory can be mutually illuminating * David Dyzenhaus, Public Law *
A work of formidable scholarship ... scholarly, rigorous and illuminating * Andrew McDonald, Law and Politics Book Review *
A fascinating read. * The Commonwealth Lawyer *


Awards
Winner of Joint-Second Prize Winner of the Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship, 2006.



Book Information
ISBN 9780198268956
Author Peter C. Oliver
Format Hardback
Page Count 392
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 733g
Dimensions(mm) 243mm * 162mm * 27mm