Property and the Constitution

Description

In this collection of essays, public lawyers, private lawyers and legal philosophers examine the public dimensions of private property. Governments across the globe are privatizing formerly public property, the public forum is being replaced by the privately owned shopping mall, and an increasing range of interests are being described as "property". The contributors consider issues including: whether property is a human right; its role in making responsible citizens; its relationship to freedom of speech and other values; the proper scope of constitutional protections of private property; impediments to the redistribution of property; and attempts to redress historical wrongs by property settlements to indigenous people. Taking a comparative perspective, examples have been drawn from jurisdictions as diverse as the United Kingdom, South Africa, Germany, the United States and New Zealand.

Janet Mclean is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Auckland,New Zealand.

...a fascinating and diverse collection...raises issues of profound importance for Australian public and private law. -- Simon Evans * Federal Law Review *