Constitutional Disqualification: A Critique of English and English-Derived Law

Abstract Many modern constitutional systems, despite the prevalence of adult suffrage, forbid certain classes of person from participation in the most important aspects of the democratic process, whether by withholding the vote from them or by denying them the right to hold office. While the former has received a considerable amount of attention in the literature, the latter has been comparatively neglected. The aim of the article is to redress this imbalance. It starts by offering, quite generally, a taxonomy of such bans. It then appraises, with particular reference to the constitutions of the English-speaking world, some of the most common grounds for disqualifying persons from holding elective office and the various purposes that these might be thought to serve. A major theme is the question whether some grounds of disqualification, notwithstanding their long history, can be justified.