The Laws of Government is a comprehensive legal treatise on the law of Canadian democracy. This book is a one-stop-shop for an area of law and policy that is emerging quickly. In the past year alone, Parliament has had to deal with controversies involving electoral reform, political fundraising rules, ethics and conflict of interest, access to information, judicial appointments, parliamentary reform, and minority governments, to name a few. The book grapples with these contemporary issues.

Each chapter deals with a discrete area in the law of democratic governance, providing a detailed account of the relevant legal and policy issues and exploring the nature and likelihood of law reform. It includes original empirical research on judicial and non-judicial governor-in-council appointments, lobbying, and legislative productivity in Parliament.

The book is intended as a rigorous legal resource, but one that is accessible to a non-legal audience. It has multidisciplinary appeal, incorporating public administration and political science themes. The Laws of Government is essential reading for journalists, elected officials, public servants, lobbyists and all who are interested in politics and Canadian democracy.

Craig Forcese is an Associate Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa. There, he teaches administrative law, public International Law, and National Security Law and runs the annual foreign policy practicum. Much of his present research and writing relates to democratic accountability, national security, and international law. Prior to joining the law school faculty, he practiced law with the Washington D.C. office of Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, specializing in international trade law. Craig has law degrees from the University of Ottawa and Yale University, a B.A. from McGill, and an M.A. in international affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University. He is a member of the bars of Ontario, New York and the District of Columbia.

He is author of National Security Law (Irwin Law, 2008)and co-author of The Laws of Government (Irwin Law 2005) and International Law: Doctrine, Practice and Theory (Irwin Law, 2007).

Craig Forcese's profile page

Aaron Freeman is a writer and advocate on democratic reform and corporate accountability issues. His regular political column, "Money and Influence," is published in The Hill Times, Canada's parliamentary newspaper, and his work often appears in Canada's leading newspapers and publications. A former "Nader's Raider" at Ralph Nader's Center for the Study of Responsive Law in Washington, D.C., Aaron was also a founding director of Democracy Watch, Canada's leading democratic reform advocacy organization, for which he served on the board for eleven years. Aaron lives in Ottawa where he operates a policy and communications consultancy that assists non-profit organizations. He is a part-time faculty member teaching the law of Canadian democracy at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law. He is a graduate of McGill University and the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law.

Aaron Freeman's profile page

"...a magisterial tome by scholars Craig Forcese and Aaron Freeman. This book is a digest of democracy, explaining the ways and means of electoral reform, access to information, minority parliament, and political ethics. Rigorous and incisive, it explains how government works."

Andrew Cohen, The Ottawa Citizen, December 27, 2005