'“Civic society” has attempted to write its own permanent and legally binding programme for government'

Newton Emerson takes an interesting approach to the Bill of Rights Forum, detecting in its proposals an attempt to impose the primacy of ‘civic society’ in government. Emerson argues that the various interest groups have not only ignored political representatives' input in the forum, and shaped the report’s proposals exclusively on their own terms, but they are also creating an executive role for the judiciary who must oversee all legislation to make sure that it conforms not only to the bill’s provisions, but also to its spirit.

The Forum established a working group to establish how judicially enforceable its suggestions might be. This group paid particular attention to ‘programmatic’ or ‘target’ rights. The report recommends that a ‘justiciability audit’ be carried out to continue this process. Yet more money required from the public purse. The argument so far is that economic and social legislation should be brought before a judge even if the objective of that legislation conforms to the requirements of the Bill.

Emerson is justly cynical about the motivations for the interest groups in framing their suggestions in this way:

“Now “civic society” has attempted to write its own permanent and legally binding programme for government while also appropriating the powers and resources to enforce it.”