In my paper, I shall defend a view about constitutional interpretation that is based on the dialogic theory of democracy. The vision that I am going to present conceives of constitutional interpretation as part of an ongoing democratic conversation, which is carried out by the same community that produced the Constitution. This approach challenges the prevailing readings on constitutional interpretation, which consider that the interpretive monopoly must remain in the hands of the judiciary, or defend “judicial supremacy,” which implies that judges remain with the “last word” in matters of interpretation. To challenge these positions, and after some introductory reflections, I will present and criticize the dominant approaches on the judicial interpretation of the Constitution – I shall mainly examine so-called “originalist” and “living constitutionalist” approaches to legal interpretation. Then, I will introduce and justify my own dialogic approach on the subject.
We look forward to welcoming you on July 3-5, 2023 for our Annual Conference entitled "Islands and Ocean: Public Law in a Plural World." The conference will take place at the Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand. We will be announcing more details about the conference soon, including financial support to early career and global south scholars!