It is often said that the rule of law is one of the most fundamental constitutional principles in Australia and globally. But how should we understand the idea of the rule of law in this context? Is it an absolute value or one that must be balanced against other competing public law values and principles? How can it prevail in complex legal systems? Is it best served by clear and certain rules – or does it instead depend on the ‘thoughtfulness’ of its subjects?
In this special Global Book series event, co-hosted by the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, Julius Stone Institute and Greater Sydney Law Schools’ Public Law Reading Group, we reflect on these questions through a dialogue between Australia’s leading rule of law theorists – Professors Lisa Burton Crawford (U Sydney) and Martin Krygier (UNSW) – and one of the work’s leading legal philosophers, NYU Professor Jeremy Waldron, author of a new book published by Harvard University Press, Thoughtfulness and the Rule of Law (2023). The event will be chaired by Professor Wojciech Sadurski (U Sydney).
The event will be held in a hybrid format at the University of Sydney Law Building (F10) (Level Four Law Common Room) and online via Zoom. For those attending in-person, morning tea will be served at the conclusion of the seminar.
The GSPL Series brings together public law academics from across greater Sydney to discuss global books in the field of public law. It is convened by Professor Rosalind Dixon (UNSW), Professor Lisa Burton Crawford (USyd), Dr Harry Hobbs (UTS), Shreeya Smith (WSU), Ashleigh Barnes (Mq).