Towering Judges
A Comparative Study of Constitutional Judges

This first-of-its-kind volume surveys twenty constitutional judges who 'towered' over their peers, exploring their complexities and flaws.

Rehan Abeyratne (Edited by), Iddo Porat (Edited by)

9781108794145, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 September 2022

360 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.485 kg

‘A book about leading jurists in constitutional courts around the world offers an instructive path to greater understanding of comparative constitutional problems and comparative judicial reasoning. This work has the additional strength of covering a wide range of courts, some of which are familiar but many of which feature less often in global studies. It is a welcome addition to the field.’ Cheryl Saunders, Laureate Professor Emeritus, and Co-Director of Studies, Public and International Law, Melbourne Law School; President Emeritus of the International Association of Constitutional Law

In Towering Judges: A Comparative Study of Constitutional Judges, Rehan Abeyratne and Iddo Porat lead an exploration of a new topic in comparative constitutional law: towering judges. The volume examines the work of nineteen judges from fourteen jurisdictions, each of whom stood out individually among their fellow judges and had a unique impact on the trajectory of constitutional law. The chapters ask: what makes a towering judge; what are the background conditions that foster or deter the rise of towering judges; are towering judges, on balance, positive or detrimental for constitutional systems; how do towering judges differ from one jurisdiction to another; how do political and historical developments relate to this phenomenon; and how does all of this fit within global constitutionalism? The answers to these questions offer important insight into how these judges were able to shine to an uncommon degree in a profession where individualism is not always looked on favourably.

Introduction Rehan Abeyratne and Iddo Porat
1. Towering judges and global constitutionalism Iddo Porat
2. The landscapes that towering judges tower over Mark Tushnet
3. Sir Anthony Mason: towering over the high court of Australia Gabrielle Appleby and Andrew Lynch
4. Canada's most towering judge of all
5. Lady Hale: a feminist towering judge Rosemary Hunter and Erika Rackley
6. Hugh Kennedy: Ireland's (quietly) towering nation-maker Tom Daly
7. Judicial rhetoric of a liberal policy: Hong Kong, 1997–2012 C. L. Lim
8. Judicial minimalism as towering: Singapore's chief justice Chan Sek Keong Jaclyn L Neo and Kevin Y. L. Tan
9. Nepal's most towering judge: the honourable Kalyan Shrestha Mara Malagodi
10. Barak's legal revolutions and what remains of them: authoritarian abuse of the judiciary-empowerment revolution in Israel Alon Harel
11. P. N. Bhagwati and the transformation of India's judiciary Rehan Abeyratne
12. Justice Cepeda's institution-building on the Colombian constitutional court: a fusion of the political and the legal David Landau
13. A towering but modest judicial figure: the case of Arthur Chaskalson Dennis M Davis
14. Chief justice Sólyom and the paradox of 'revolution under the rule of law' Gábor Attila Tóth
15. The socialist model of individual judicial powers Bui Ngoc Son
16. The civil law tradition, the Pinochet constitution, and judge Eugenio Valenzuela Sergio Verdugo
17. Towering versus collegial judges: a comparative reflection Rosalind Dixon
Appendix
Index.

Subject Areas: Judicial powers [LNAA1], Legal system: general [LNA], Legal profession: general [LAT], Comparative law [LAM]