Open AccessCANADIAN LIVING TREE DOCTRINE OF CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION
Author(s) -
Luiz Henrique Diniz Araújo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
revista direitos fundamentais and democracia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1982-0496
DOI - 10.25192/issn.1982-0496.rdfd.v25i31874
Subject(s) - originalism , constitution , doctrine , interpretation (philosophy) , constitutional interpretation , metaphor , constitutional law , law , objectivity (philosophy) , political science , epistemology , sociology , philosophy , linguistics
This paper aims to tackle the issue of constraints to constitutional interpretation in light of the Living Tree metaphor from the Canadian Constitutional Law. It further scrutinizes this doctrine in contrast to the Originalism and the Living Constitution doctrines developed in the United States. As a conclusion, the article acknowledges that the Living Tree metaphor has the merit for proposing a reconciliation between fixidity and flexibility in interpretation of the constitution. Nevertheless, in order to convey more objectivity and constraints to interpretation, it should be associated with consideration to precedents and incrementalism.