Date:20Feb 2017

In this presentation, Professor Hoi Kong will argue that the idea of the rule of law, and indeed the idea of law itself, has deep connections with norms that are associated with the theory of deliberative democracy. In particular, it will be argued that in order for citizens to benefit from the rule of law, they should be able to rationally and reasonably guide their conduct in light of the law. They should furthermore be able to deliberate publicly about laws, to challenge their contents and effects, and to influence their future development. Professor Hoi Kong will conclude the talk by providing answers to some challenges to this concept of the rule of law.

Hoi Kong is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of McGill University, where he teaches and researches in the areas of Constitutional Law, Comparative Law, Administrative Law, and Municipal Law. He is co-director (with Ron Levy) of the Program on Deliberative Governance and he is also currently Director of Research and Principal Investigator of the Narratives and Stories of Innovation in Montreal project, which is funded by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montreal and the J.W. McConnell Family Visiting Professor of Practice Program.