| Comparative Public Law and Governance

The roots of public law have been traced to Roman law by some authors, while others maintain that it emerged from a broader set of political changes in Medieval Europe. The modern understanding of public law corresponds to the areas of law that directly govern relations between citizens and the State. Although it is routinely conflated with practical fields such as Constitutional Law and Administrative Law, the principles of public law have permeated through all conceivable areas of legal theory as well as practice. The borrowing of legal ideas and institutions has been a long-documented practice and the judiciary often benefits from relying upon decisions made by courts from other jurisdictions. In that sense, the field of ‘Comparative Public Law and Governance’ is focused on the evolution of political and legal institutions across different national jurisdictions and legal traditions, especially in respect of the understanding of rights and ideas of public accountability. With a widening of governmental functions, the presence of the state in newer sectors is also foregrounding a range of novel forums and strategies for ensuring accountability on part of state actors.