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snowywolfowlThe New York Times has an article online describing how many countries are no longer modeling their constitutions on the US model, but are instead looking towards newer, more recent ones like Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
It's a very fascinating read but I am not really sure what to make of this. While I'm certainly flattered that many countries seem to be finding useful value within the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, I can't help but consider the oddness of looking to a document that hasn't been ratified by every province of Canada*.
Don't get me wrong, I really like the Charter, and believe it to be a very well thought document to base our laws on. I think I'm just going to be interested in seeing where the constitutional compasses of the world are pointing in 20 years.
For those interested in the article it's here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/us/we-the-people-loses-appeal-with-people-around-the-world.html?_r=1
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms can be found here: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/charter/
And if anyone is interested for comparisons the US Constitution is here: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/bdsdcc:@field%28DOCID+@lit%28bdsdccc0801%29%29
*Quebec's refusal to ratify has lead to a few constitutional summits to try to break that impasse, which have been such colossal failures I think I'd rather have another blood clot than have Canada go through another one. For those wondering why I fully support keeping the Monarchy in its current position in Canada even when I freely admit it has no relevance to Canadian decision making, there's your reason.
It's a very fascinating read but I am not really sure what to make of this. While I'm certainly flattered that many countries seem to be finding useful value within the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, I can't help but consider the oddness of looking to a document that hasn't been ratified by every province of Canada*.
Don't get me wrong, I really like the Charter, and believe it to be a very well thought document to base our laws on. I think I'm just going to be interested in seeing where the constitutional compasses of the world are pointing in 20 years.
For those interested in the article it's here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/us/we-the-people-loses-appeal-with-people-around-the-world.html?_r=1
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms can be found here: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/charter/
And if anyone is interested for comparisons the US Constitution is here: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/bdsdcc:@field%28DOCID+@lit%28bdsdccc0801%29%29
*Quebec's refusal to ratify has lead to a few constitutional summits to try to break that impasse, which have been such colossal failures I think I'd rather have another blood clot than have Canada go through another one. For those wondering why I fully support keeping the Monarchy in its current position in Canada even when I freely admit it has no relevance to Canadian decision making, there's your reason.
