Constitutions can be viewed as the road map of liberal democracies. And like any road map, they need to be constantly reconsidered and redrawn as the territory develops and changes. The contributors to this collection undertake this re-interpretation on a number of levels. They examine the theoretical approaches to constitutional interpretation and then move on to implied rights. There then follows a consideration of the role of the judiciary and parliament in constitutional interpretation, drawing upon a number of examples from around the world.

Table of Contents

Introduction - Charles Sampford and Kim Preston

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION
The interpretation of a constitution in a modern liberal democracy - Sir Anthony Mason
Paradigm shifts in judicial interpretation: reframing legal and constitutional reasoning - Bryan Horrigan
Constituting a nation: adjudication as constitutive rhetoric - Sandra S. Berns

DEMOCRACY AND JUDICIAL CHOICE: THE IMPLIED RIGHTS DEBATE
Constitutionally entrenched common law rights: sacrificing means to ends? - George Winterton
A return to Dicey? The philosophical foundations of the Australian High Court's implied rights jurisprudence - Haig Patapan
Judicial invalidation of legislation and democratic principles - David Wood

JUDICIARY AND PARLIAMENT: ALIGNING INSTITUTIONAL ROLES
The Australian High Court's role in institutional maintenance and development - Brian Galligan
The Australian Parliament and High Court: determination of constitutional questions - Daryl Williams
Politically sensitive interpretation - David Solomon
Overruling constitutional interpretations - J.W. Harris
International dimensions of constitutional interpretation - H.P. Lee

Table of Cases
Table of Statutes
References
Index