Trinity College Law Review & King’s Student Law Review Joint Edition on Constitutional Law
The Trinity College Law Review and King’s Student Law Review (KSLR) are delighted to finally publish the inaugural TCLR-KSLR Joint Edition on Constitutional Law. Established in 2013, the partnership between our journals encourages collaborative legal scholarship and provides an academic platform for students to publish their work.
Due to recent political and legal events, constitutional law has risen to the forefront of global attention. A few of these milestones include the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, the rights of asylum seekers in the Irish direct provision system, and other constitutional decisions taken by both the British and Irish Supreme Courts. At a time of great interest in these timely issues, this joint edition facilitates a student response to pertinent issues.
In this edition’s first article, Cian Henry argues that the constraints placed on the political branches under the Irish Constitution are not rigid and are, instead, largely fluid and dependent on the attitudes of the judiciary themselves towards their proper role within the constitutional order.
In the second article, Alex Powell explores the justiciability of the prerogative power of prorogation, and specifically the implications of the recent Miller/Cherry judgment. Alex contends that the outcome of the case is consistent with precedent, and emphasises the importance of the fundamental principle of Parliamentary sovereignty.
In the third article, Conall Towe critiques the use of constituent power theory as a justification for the inability to amend (or the enshrinement of) certain constitutional provisions. Conall offers a rebuttal of recent legal scholarship defending the viability of constituent power theory and presents a conclusion to what he identifies as its ‘central problem.’
Last but not least, in this edition’s fourth article, Samantha Tancredi offers insight into Nigeria’s unique legal system, which combines secular and religious law. By adopting historical and sociolegal perspectives, Samantha explains the current dilemmas facing Nigeria’s constitution and its pluralist legal system.
We would like to thank the authors for their excellent contributions, and our affiliated departments – the Dickson Poon School of Law and the Trinity School of Law – for their continued support. Finally, we are greatly indebted to our contributors and our editors for the time and effort they have invested in this ambitious project.
– Nazanin Aslani (KSLR), Celia Reynolds (TCLR)