Faculty of Law
Queen's UniversityQuick Links
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Mark Walters
Professor
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Teaching Subjects
- Constitutional Law
- Public Law
- Aboriginal Law
- Jurisprudence
Current Research
My research focuses on constitutional law, legal history, and legal theory. One theme that I am continuing to consider is the status of Aboriginal customary laws and government in colonial Canada. In particular, I am interested in exploring what may be labelled the ‘covenant-chain constitution' that existed in pre-confederation Canada – the covenant chain being the series of treaties that bound the Crown and Aboriginal nations in the Great Lakes region. I am also interested in some general theoretical problems arising in constitutional law, and how approaches to these problems affect approaches to practical legal issues. An example that I have been considering is the notion of the ‘unwritten' constitution. Finally, I am exploring the evolution of jurisprudential and constitutional theory.
Recent Publications
- Mark Walters, “Jurisdiction, Formalism and Constitutionalism in Canadian Administrative Law”, in Christopher Forsyth, Mark Elliott, Swati Jhaveri, Michael Ramsden, & Anne Scully Hill (eds.), Effective Judicial Review: A Cornerstone of Good Governance (Oxford: Oxford University Press,2010), chapter 18
- Mark Walters "Legal Humanism and Law as Integrity " (2008), 67 Cambridge Law Journal352-375
- Mark Walters “The Jurisprudence of Reconciliation: Aboriginal Rights in Canada" in Will Kymlicka & Bashir Bashir (eds.), The Politics of Reconciliation in Multicultural Societies (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), chapter 8, pp. 165-191
- Mark Walters “Written Constitutions and Unwritten Constitutionalism" in Grant Huscroft (ed.), Expounding the Constitution: Essays in Constitutional Theory (Cambridge University Press, 2008), chapter 10, pp. 245-276
- Mark Walters“Histories of Colonialism, Legality and Aboriginality " (2007), 57 University of Toronto Law Journal 819-832