Thesis (doctoral)--Universiteit van Amsterdam.

Thesis (LL. M.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Law. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-235). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ56167.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-166).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Tübingen, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references and register.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

The socio-political tranquility of Hyderabad-Deccan preceding 1948 facilitated much educational and cultural advancement. This rapidly developing environment provided Hamidullah with the ideal opportunity for educational growth, having earned five degrees related to the field of law by the age of 28 in 1936. He began writing at age 18, and thereafter he dedicated his life to literary pursuits. Today, he has written over 100 books and 900 articles; he speaks over 20 languages and writes in over 10 languages. Along with one of his major areas of focus, Islamic constitutional law, he has written on a variety of other subject areas, ranging from Islamic theology to Islamic history, from Qur'anic exegesis to Orientalism. / This thesis attempts to study five books in the field of Islamic constitutional law by Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah in order to provide a sample to judge and analyze his scholarship. Against the background of Hamidullah's historical and political context coupled with his high level of religiosity, the thesis will examine his utilization of the scientific approach throughout his writings. This thesis furthermore looks at the potential reasons he chose the path of study that he did, dedicating his entire life to the literary sphere and to a lesser degree the political sphere. It focuses on Hamidullah's thought and methodology as they emerged from his social and political background and as he expressed them in his literary achievements. This thesis, therefore, sets out to develop a critical analysis of Hamidullah's works, his philosophical perspective, and his contribution to contemporary scholarship. / Hamidullah has contributed to Islamic scholarship by making available Islamic literature to mixed audiences since he follows the scientific approach, writes in a variety of languages, and covers a wide range of unique topics. Indeed Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah is a well-esteemed scholar of formidable status and prestige in numerous fields of Islamic history.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has significantly changed the functions of the Canadian courts. Ever since its entrenchment in 1982, the third branch of government has enjoyed a powerful status in the Canadian polity. Countless Charter decisions, affecting the lives of all Canadians, have been rendered. The courts have been asked to rule on cruise missile testing, abortion, aboriginal rights, minority language rights and a whole range of other issues of a political, economic or social nature. Our political system, whose traditional foundations lay in the principle of parliamentary supremacy, has become one of constitutional supremacy. The new and powerful status of the nonelected judiciary has raised serious questions not only regarding the legitimacy of judicial review under the Charter but also the institutional capacity of the courts to face the Charter challenge. The author examines the nature of the judiciary's policy-making function under the Charter in order to determine the extent to which the courts are equipped to fulfil their task. The thesis suggests that in order to face the Charter challenge effectively, the courts can no longer operate within the framework of the traditional adversary process. Instead, the courts must constantly look to the prevailing values in our society as well as examine thoroughly social and scientific phenomena before rendering an "informed" policy decision. This can only be achieved through a coherent framework of Charter analysis and effective ways in handling extrinsic materials. The focus of the present paper is on section 1 of the Charter which, due to its open-ended language, most clearly invites courts to make policy-type decision.

In Sparrow, the Supreme Court of Canada stated that ss. 35(1) is “a solemn commitment that must be given meaningful content” the objective of which is to ensure that Aboriginal rights “are taken seriously.” Despite such a clear directive from the highest court, in Manitoba Métis Federation v. Canada [2007], MacInnes J. of the Queen’s Bench of Manitoba seemed incapable of taking seriously the Aboriginal title of the Métis under s. 31 of the Manitoba Act, 1870, and in no way thought of its explicit recognition as ‘a solemn commitment that must be given meaningful content’. For his part, if Scott C.J. of the Manitoba Court of Appeal was able to find a ‘cognizable Aboriginal interest’ in the expression ‘Indian title’, and thereby recognize to some extent Métis Aboriginal rights, he seemed incapable of conceiving such interests as title. This thesis is basically an attempt to ‘take seriously’ the common law Aboriginal title of the Métis. In order to do so, it first looks at the treatment of the concept of Indian title and the Royal Proclamation, 1763, in the lower courts throughout the infamous St. Catharine’s Milling and Lumber case. Subsequently, the existing common law doctrines of inherent Métis rights, those of the derivative rights doctrine, the empty box doctrine and the distinct Aboriginal people doctrine are all found to be inadequate to the task of providing cogency to the ‘constitutional imperative’ that was evoked in Powley. A fourth doctrine is therefore proposed, that of a Métis Autochthonous or Indigenous rights doctrine. In light of this, it is argued that the recognition of the ‘Indian’ title in s. 31 was not a mere ‘political expediency’ but is rooted in the underlying constitutional principle of the protection of minorities. Furthermore, insofar as the ‘Indian’ title of the Métis is taken seriously, it can be seen as having been extinguished through the federal power over ‘lands reserved for Indians’ under ss. 91(24). The legal implication is that they were, in the logic of the times, basically enfranchised ‘Indians’. Finally, by applying the grid established in Sioui for determining the existence of a ‘treaty’, it is argued that s. 31 is a ‘treaty’ or land claims settlement within the meaning of s. 35.

The prime focus of this dissertation consists in exploring constitutional jurisprudence in the Supreme Court of Venezuela over the last five decades, making use of arguments drawn from Venezuelan history and the existing jurisprudential approaches to theories about the general character of law as integrated in numerous public law cases. This study offers a new approach, one that focuses on ensuring that fundamental constitutional principles are aligned with the concrete objectives (purposes) that the Constitution sets out to achieve. This account is developed through a theoretical framework comprising of: I. A historical overview from independence (1811) to democratization (1947 and beyond), emphasizing the fundamentals of the Constitutions of 1961 and 1999, to portray a vivid and accurate picture of the origins of Venezuela’s constitutional democracy; II. A survey, of constitutional cases that illustrates the evolution of the Venezuelan constitutional jurisprudence under the overt or subliminal use of certain default legal theories, namely, legal positivism in the era of the 1961 Constitution, legal realism and Ronald Dworkin’s adjudication theory in the era of the 1999 Constitution III. An insightful discussion of the main arguments of Ronald Dworkin’s principled theory and Justice Aharon Barak’s purposive theory, in an effort to build theorectical support, which links the various points of their respective theories in order to articulate one in the context of the Venezuelan jurisprudence; IV An original attempt to build a theoretical approach based on the Venezuelan constitutional system, history, culture, and identity to bring together the priorities of formalism, particularly the written principles of the Constitution and the priorities of functionalism and social welfare. This is to ensure that the Supreme Court decides accordingly with the constitutional principles as much as their underlying purposes to provide solutions to legal conundrums.