Democracy's Privileged Few: Legislative Privilege and Democratic Norms in the British and American Constitutions (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780300113259)

This book is the first to compare the freedoms and protections of members of the United States Congress with those of Britain's Parliament. Placing legislative privilege in historical context, Josh Chafetz explores how and why legislators in Britain and America have been granted special privileges in five areas: jurisdictional conflicts between the courts and the legislative houses, freedom of speech, freedom from civil arrest, contested elections, and the disciplinary powers of the houses.
Legislative privilege is a crucial component of the relationship between a representative body and the other participants in government, including the people. In recounting and analyzing the remarkable story of how parliamentary government emerged and evolved in Britain and how it crossed the Atlantic, Chafetz illuminates a variety of important constitutional issues, including the separation of powers, the nature of representation, and the difference between written and unwritten constitutionalism. This book will inspire in readers a much greater appreciation for the rise and triumph of democracy.

Author: Josh Chafetz,Fred C. Robinson,Raymond Oler
ISBN-10: 0300113250
ISBN-13: 9780300113259
Publisher: Yale University Press
Language: English
Published: 01/01/2007
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 9.56h x 6.44w x 1.00d