About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

19 Rev. Const. Stud. 237 (2014-2015)
Is Originalism Bad for Women - The Curious Case of Canada's Equal Rights Amendment

handle is hein.journals/revicos19 and id is 240 raw text is: Is Originalism Bad for Women? The Curious Case of Canada's Equal Rights Amendment' KerriA. Froc2 Originalism is a body of theories about constitutional interpretation that gained popularity in the United States in the 1980s. These theories maintain that the meaning of constitutional provisions is fixed at the time of framing and ratification and that the popularly understood meaning of the words at that time (or the original intentions of the drafters) is authoritative. While originalism purports to have a positivist orientation, some American scholars have argued that it is mere subterfuge for conservative judicial activism and is better understood as a populist rhetoricalpractice that has invigorated radical, conservative political movements. This article argues that feminist theorists should reconsider their outright dismissal of originalist theories as deleterious for women's rights, and instead conduct a deeper analysis that weighs their as-yet unexplored potential benefits against the well-documented risks, using the example of section 28 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a case in point. The application oforiginalistprinciples, at least for the interpretation of section 28, is a critical step in moving women towards having truly equal access to Charter rights. L'originalisme est un ensemble de thiories portant sur l'interpritation constitutionnelle qui gagna en populariti aux Etats-Unis dans les annies 1980. Selon ces thdories, la signification des dispositions constitution nelles est arritle au moment de la formulation et de la ratification et la signification communiment accordde aux mots h l'epoque (ou les intentions initiales des ridacteurs)fait autoriti. Bien que l'originalisme pritende avoir une orientation positiviste, certains chercheurs itats-uniens ont soutenu qu'il s'agit d'un simple subterfuge pour l'ctivisme judiciaire conservateur et il est mieux compris comme une pratique de rhitorique populiste ayant revigord des mouvements politiques conservateurs radicaux. L'auteur de cet article soutient que les thdoriciensffiministes devraient reconsidirer leur rejet categorique des thdories originalistes comme nuisible aux droits desfemmes et mener plutdt une analyse plus approfondie mettant en balance les avantages iventuels jusqu'alors inexplors et les risques solidement documentis Sl'aidede l'zrticle28 dela Charte canadienne des droits et libertis comme exemple typique. L'pplication de principes originalistes, du moins pour l'interpritation de larticle 28, est un pas critique pour mener lesfemmes vers l'obtention d'un accis viritablement igal aux droits garantis par la Charte. I This title takes its inspiration from provocative titles of feminist works such as Beverley Baines, Is Constitutionalism Bad for Intersectional Feminists? (2010) 28:3 Penn St L Rev 427; Susan Moller Okin, Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? in Joshua Cohen, Matthew Howard, & Martha C Nussbaum, eds, Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999) 7; and some originalist writing, such as James Allen, The Curious Concept of the 'Living Tree' (or Non-Locked-In) Constitution in Grant Huscroft & Bradley W Miller, eds, The Challenge of Originalism: Theories of Constitutional Interpretation (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011) 179. A version of this paper was presented at a March 2013 conference in Lisbon, Portugal, entitled, Pluralism, Inclusion and Citizenship: A Diversity and Recognition Project hosted by Inter-Disciplinary.Net. 2 Ph.D. (Candidate), Faculty of Law, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; Trudeau and Vanier Scholar. 237

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most