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Rights and the ideal constitution

Which rights should be put beyond democratic choice and addressed via the courts?

Jonathan Sumption, formerly one of England and Wales’s most senior judges sitting in the UK’s Supreme Court, assesses the US and UK’s constitutional models. The British (unwritten) constitution is, or was, a political constitution. In America, they have to address political questions – eg the right to abortion – via the courts, rather than via politics. Britain should learn from the US example to be careful about which rights should be put beyond democratic choice. The programme is recorded at George Washington University, Washington DC, in front of an audience.

The Reith Lectures are presented and chaired by Anita Anand.

50 minutes

Last on

Sat 15 Jun 2019 03:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 11 Jun 2019 08:06GMT
  • Sat 15 Jun 2019 02:06GMT
  • Sat 15 Jun 2019 03:06GMT

The Reith Lectures on Radio 4

Archive recordings from the Â鶹Éç's flagship annual lecture series going back to 1948