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The Law of Nations and the United States Constitution offers a new lens through which anyone interested in constitutional governance in the United States should analyze the role and status of customary international law in U.S. courts. The book explains that the law of nations has not interacted with the Constitution in any single overarching way. Rather, the Constitution was designed to interact in distinct ways with each of the three traditional branches of the law of nations that existed when it was adopted-namely, the law merchant, the law of state-state relations, and the law maritime.

Until either article 2, section 28 or the judicial construction of that section is modified, Tennessee will be unable to levy a general personal income tax. The revenue needs of the state will rise dramatically during the next twenty years, placing increasing strain on the antiquated and regressive privilege-property tax structure no win effect.' As noted earlier, a constitutional amendment specifically authorizing a personal income tax does not appear to be a likely prospect for the foreseeable future. The only feasible solution seems to be the passage of a nongraduated income tax, such as that proposed by the Tax Modernization and Reform Commission in an effort to prompt the Tennessee Supreme Court to reconsider and retreat from its present construction of section 28. This may not be as futile as it might at first appear. A nongraduated income tax, exempting the income from property taxed ad valorem, bears at least a surface resemblance to a property tax, and might be characterized as such. This tax would reach the income from personal services, tapping a major new source of revenue.

Nations around the world are facing various crises of ineffective government. Basic governmental functions-protecting rights, preventing violence, and promoting material well-being-are compromised, leading to declines in general welfare, in the enjoyment of rights, and even in democracy itself. This innovative collection, featuring analyses by leaders in the fields of constitutional law and politics, highlights the essential role of effective government in sustaining democratic constitutionalism. The book explores "effective government" as a right, principle, duty, and interest, situating questions of governance in debates about negative and positive constitutionalism. In addition to providing new conceptual approaches to the connections between rights and governance, the volume also provides novel insights into government institutions, including courts, legislatures, executives, and administrative bodies, as well as the media and political parties. This is an essential volume for anyone interested in constitutionalism, comparative law, governance, democracy, the rule of law, and rights.

This essay aims at explaining what the democratic and republican principles declared in the Brazilian Constitution represent – or could represent. First, the work considers the notion of a Constitution and its models, combined with the concept of rule of law. The author goes further and examines the idea of freedom, as it changes depending on the constitutional model followed, be it derived from the French or the American Revolution. Presenting the preoccupations of different experts regarding a constitutional system, the essay compares their arguments before considering the elements of the Brazilian Constitution and its preamble. In this context, it is made clear the influence of Brazilian History in the understanding of the meaning of democracy and republic in the country. Furthermore, concepts such as "individual", "citizen", "citizenship", "government", "equality", "communitarianism", "solidarity", "common good", "vote", among others, are all presented and understood through the lenses of the Brazilian Constitution and constitutional doctrine to build a wide-ranging yet comprehensible notion of democracy and republic in Brazil.

The Chairman of the Convention, which met Feb. 2-13, 1998, to debate whether Australia should maintain its ties to the British monarchy or declare itself a republic, describes the procedures followed and recommendations for further action. A referendum will be held in the second half of 1999 to decide whether Australia should become a republic at the Centenary of Federation on Jan. 1, 2001.

The subject of revolutionary overthrow of constitutional orders in Africa is at the intersection of three disciplines: jurisprudence and legal philosophy, constitutional law and power politics, and civil-military relations, that is, military security policy which is one aspect of national security policy. The subject is of interest in at least four ways. It problematizes the inescapable question of governance in the African continent. It challenges the democratization agenda in Africa ñ how does one democratize not only political governance but also the instruments of violence in the state? It.