David Brian Dennison - Uganda Christian University / Unversity of Cape Town, Lecturer / Ph. D Candidate
Constitutional design, the political question doctrine should be accounted for as a potential check on the scope and power of judicial review. As applied, the doctrine is a self-imposed check as it is for courts to apply. Constitutions that seek to increase court access through liberal standing requirements on issues of public interests should account for the doctrine as it provides courts with a way of avoiding, or at least reducing, the substantial work load that public interest litigation can impose on the judiciary. While the political question in theory limits the power of courts; the doctrine also empowers courts to reduce their workload.
About Brian Dennison
Brian Dennison is a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Uganda Christian University where he also serves as the coordinator of the Clinical Legal Education Programme and Moot Court Coach.He is also an adjunct Professor with Regent University, School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA. Dennison teaches Legal Ethics, Jurisprudence, Clinical Legal Education and Law and Christian Political Thought. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English, a Masters of Business Administration and Juris Doctorate (cum laude) from the University of Georgia, USA and he is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Cape Town in the Department of Private Law. He is conducting his doctoral research in the area where customary law meets the rights and interests of persons with disabilities in Uganda. Dennison academic interests include the relationship between religion and the law, customary law, the influence of American jurisprudence within Africa, disabilities law, education law, the law of evidence, legal ethics, legal pedagogy and clinical legal education. Prior to joining Uganda Christian University in 2008, he practiced law in Savannah, Georgia, USA for nine years.
Draft conference paper can be accessed HERE. Note this is draft only not for quotation purposes.