Institute of Parliamentary and Political Law

The Institute of Parliamentary and Political Law is a Canadian not-for-profit corporation established in February 2008 and based in Ottawa, Ontario. It focuses on professional and educational work concerning the interdisciplinary, comprehensive, and comparative analysis of public affairs. Its subject area, parliamentary and political law, sits within the wider field of public law and examines how parliamentary, governmental, and judicial institutions are established, organized, and operated. The Institute's scope includes parliamentary law, including the rules governing parliamentary institutions and parliamentary privilege, as well as political law concerning the structure of the state, the processes of governing, and the use of legal, public-policy, and political instruments in democratic government. The field is closely related to constitutional and administrative law, but also draws on political science, public policy, public administration, and institutional practice. The organization presents itself as non-partisan and autonomous from partisan political organizations and interests. It does not engage in advocacy; instead, its stated role is analytical, educational, and professional. Its national membership has included participants from the legal profession, public policy and administration, and political science communities, reflecting the Institute's cross-disciplinary orientation. A principal publication associated with the Institute is The Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law, issued three times a year and made available through Carswell Thomson. The journal provides a vehicle for research and analysis of parliamentary and political law from domestic and comparative perspectives. The Institute also organizes conferences on law and Parliament on a biennial basis. The Third Law and Parliament Conference took place at the University of Toronto in November 2009. Available reference material identifies several officers connected with the Institute during its early period: Beverley McLachlin, then Chief Justice of Canada, as honorary patron; Robert R. Walsh, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel of the House of Commons, as chair of the board; Christopher Axworthy, Q.C., then dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba, as president; and Gregory Tardi, Senior Parliamentary Counsel at the House of Commons, as executive director, secretary of the board, and treasurer. Current leadership, financial information, operating status, and a current official website are not established by the supplied sources.

The Institute of Parliamentary and Political Law was founded in February 2008 as a Canadian not-for-profit corporation headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Its creation reflected an effort to provide a dedicated institutional setting for the study of parliamentary and political law as a field located between traditional public-law disciplines and the practical study of democratic institutions. The Institute defines parliamentary and political law broadly. Parliamentary law concerns the establishment and operation of parliamentary institutions, including the law of parliamentary privilege. Political law addresses the structure of the state, the legal and policy processes through which government operates, and the effect of law on democratic governance. In this conception, the field complements constitutional law and administrative law while maintaining a distinct interdisciplinary relationship with political science, public policy, and public administration. From its early activities, the Institute was structured as a non-partisan and autonomous organization. It stated that it did not represent partisan political organizations or interests and did not engage in advocacy. Instead, its activities were professional and educational, intended to support comprehensive and comparative analysis of public affairs. Its membership base drew from legal practitioners and scholars, public-policy and public-administration professionals, and political scientists. Publishing and convening were central elements of the Institute's work. It published The Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law three times annually, with distribution through Carswell Thomson. The journal's subject matter covered parliamentary institutions, governmental and judicial officials, legal frameworks for governing, and comparative approaches to parliamentary and political systems. The publication helped define the Institute's role as a specialist research and professional-education body rather than a political advocacy organization. The Institute also established a biennial conference program focused on law and Parliament. The Third Law and Parliament Conference was held at the University of Toronto from November 12 to 14, 2009, indicating that the conference series was already established by the Institute's first years. The event connected the organization's research mission with academic and professional discussion of parliamentary practice and legal institutions. Early listed officers included Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada, as honorary patron; Robert R. Walsh, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel of the House of Commons, as chair of the board; Christopher Axworthy, Q.C., dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba, as president; and Gregory Tardi, Senior Parliamentary Counsel at the House of Commons, in the combined roles of executive director, secretary of the board, and treasurer. The supplied references do not establish later leadership, additional publications, current programs, financial performance, or whether the organization remains active.

• 2009

  Third Law and Parliament Conference

  [1]Institute of Parliamentary and Political Lawen.wikipedia.org

  The Institute held its third Law and Parliament conference at the University of Toronto from November 12 to 14, 2009.

• 2008

  Institute established

  [1]Institute of Parliamentary and Political Lawen.wikipedia.org

  The Institute of Parliamentary and Political Law was founded in February 2008 as a Canadian not-for-profit corporation focused on interdisciplinary and comparative public-affairs analysis.

A non-partisan, interdisciplinary Canadian forum for scholarship, professional education, and comparative analysis of parliamentary institutions, governmental processes, and political law.

• Academic and professional journal

  The Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law

  The Institute's specialist journal examines parliamentary and political law through interdisciplinary, comprehensive, and comparative analysis. Its subject area includes parliamentary institutions, parliamentary privilege, governmental processes, democratic governance, and related constitutional and administrative-law questions. The publication appeared three times a year and was distributed through Carswell Thomson.

• Professional and educational conference

  Law and Parliament conferences

  A biennial conference program bringing together legal, academic, parliamentary, public-policy, and political-science perspectives on the relationship between law and Parliament. The third identified conference was held at the University of Toronto in November 2009.

1. 1Institute of Parliamentary and Political Lawen.wikipedia.org