The Law of Emergency Powers: Comparative Common Law Perspectives - Softcover

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Abhishek Manu Singhvi is an eminent jurist, senior third-term parliamentarian, visible media personality, well-known columnist, author, thinker and commentator. He was the youngest designated Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India (at age 34); the youngest Additional Solicitor General of India (at 37); and is a former elected Vice President, Supreme Court Bar Association (at 39). He is a former Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of Law, one of the seniormost national spokespersons of the Congress Party & former Chairman of the AICC Law and Human Rights Department. He has been a member of the Indian Supreme Court, where he created and administered bilateral legal forums, including the Indo-British, Indo-US, Indo-Canadian and Indo-Israel forums. After obtaining his B.A. (Economics) degree from St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi, Dr. Singhvi went on to complete his Masters and PhD at Trinity College, Cambridge, UK. He also taught at St. John’s College, Cambridge, and joined abrief summer program at Harvard, USA. He has lectured to student/faculty groups and general audiences at Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Boston, MIT and George Washington Universities, as well as NGOs and think-tanks. He was a visiting Trumbull Lecturer at Yale University, USA, in 2011 and is currently an Honorary Adjunct Professor at O.P. Jindal Global University.

Khagesh Gautam is an Associate Professor of Law and Assistant Dean (Research and Publications) at Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India. He received his LL.M. from Columbia Law School, where he graduated as a Stone Scholar. He teaches core courses on Constitutional Law and Evidence and elective courses on Comparative Constitutional Law and Forensic Evidence. He has also taught at the China University of Political Science and Law, Changping, Beijing, and at William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii, USA. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of the Africa Journal of Comparative Constitutional Law. His work has been published in e.g. the Columbia Journal of Asian Law, Indiana International and Comparative Law Review, Southwestern Journal of International Law, Boston University International Law Journal, Vienna Journal on International Constitutional Law, Journal of Comparative Law, International Tax Journal, and Economic and Political Weekly.        

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This book presents a comprehensive legal and constitutional study of emergency powers from a comparative common law perspective. It is one of very few comparative studies on three jurisdictions and arguably the first one to explore in detail various emergency powers, statutory and common law, constitutional and statutory law, martial law and military acting-in-aid of civil authority, wartime and peacetime invocations, and several related and vital themes like judicial review of emergency powers (existence, scope and degree). The three jurisdictions compared here are: the pure implied common law model (employed by the UK), implied constitutional model (employed by the USA) and the explicit constitutional model (employed by India). The book's content has important implications, as these three jurisdictions collectively cover the largest population within the common law world, and also provide maximum representative diversity. The book covers the various positions on external emergencies as opposed to internal emergencies, economic/financial emergencies, and emergent inroads being made into state autonomy by the central or federal governments, through use of powers like Article 356 of the Indian Constitution.

By providing a detailed examination of the law and practice of emergency powers, the book shares a wealth of valuable insights. Specific sub-chapters address questions like - what is the true meaning of 'martial law'; who can invoke 'martial law'; when can it be invoked and suspended; what happens when the military is called in to aid civilian authorities; can martial law be deemed to exist or coexist when this happens; what are the limits on state powers when an economic emergency is declared; and, above all, can, and if so, when and how should courts judicially review emergency powers? These and several other questions are asked and answered in this study. Though several checks and constraints have been devised regarding the scope and extent of 'emergency powers, ' these powers are still prone to misuse, as all vast powers are. A study of the legal propositions on this subject, especially from a comparative perspective, is valuable for any body politic that aspires to practice democracy, while also allowing constitutionally controlled aberrations to protect that democracy.