| Title: | Constitution-Making and Immutable Principles |
| Citable URL: | http://hdl.handle.net/10427/35278 |
| Author: | Brooke, Sam |
| Date: | 2005 |
| Citation: | Brooke, Sam. "Constitution-Making and Immutable Principles." 2005. Tufts University. Digital Collections and Archives. Medford, MA. http://hdl.handle.net/10427/35278 Available from Tufts Digital Library, Digital Collections and Archives, Medford, MA. http://hdl.handle.net/10427/35278 |
| Rights: | http://dca.tufts.edu/ua/access/rights-creator.html |
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Abstract: Submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Abstract: The concept of immutable principles broadly defined as unchangeable, substantive principles which provide a check on a political process has impacted constitutions in two manners. First, the difficulties of developing new constitutions in post-conflict situations has occasionally been alleviated by the usage of immutable principles, the clearest example of this being South Africa's Constitution of 1996. Second, immutable principles have been used to limit the amendability of certain constitutions, making certain rights or principles permanently entrenched. This has been seen in Germany and India. The purpose of this thesis is to compare and contrast the historical usage of immutable principles in these two different settings (i.e., limits on the formulation of new constitutions versus limits on existing constitutions), and to outline considerations for their continued use.