Tom Campbell's Proposal for a Democratic Bill of Rights
Australian Journal of Legal Philosophy, Vol. 34, 2009
9 Pages Posted: 31 Aug 2010 Last revised: 5 Sep 2010
Date Written: August 30, 2010
Abstract
In this essay, written for a symposium in honor of Tom Campbell, I examine Campbell’s contribution to a public and scholarly debate about Australian bills of rights. His engagement in this debate itself shows something of his intellectual commitments. Although deeply engaged with fundamental questions of political and legal philosophy, he brings his philosophical insights to bear on contemporary legal and political questions.
Tom Campbell is a well-known opponent of the enactment of a constitutional bill of rights and a critic of statutory forms as well. In this essay, I will briefly review the arguments he makes against constitutional rights and his criticism of the statutory forms before moving to consider a more recent aspect of his work, a proposal for a ‘democratic’ bill of rights.
Keywords: Tom Campbell, prescriptive legal positivism, bills of rights
JEL Classification: K00, K19, K39
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation