CONSENSUS AND CONSENSUS-BUILDING: PURPOSE OF POPULAR DELIBERATION
Consensus is the constitutionally prescribed way of decision-making in GLC. Popular Deliberation (PD) is GLC's platform that guarantees that there is always an opportunity to consult, deliberate, and achieve consensus amongst the current study body of GLawyers when it comes to important decisions, such as whether any individual candidate in the Nominated Governing Council is unsuitable for confirmation by the Government and Laws Senate. Additionally, PD exists to make the needs of current GLawyers, regardless of whether they ever contributed materially to GLC, heard by GLC's Senate and Governing Council.
FUNCTIONS OF POPULAR DELIBERATION
PD consists of two components: (1) an all-year electronic opinion platform; (2) an annual GLC convention, both of which:
- Allow the entire current study body of the BSocSc (Govt&Laws) & LLB Programme to express their opinions on the Manifesto (known as a Platform or Year Plan in other organisations) of the incumbent or Nominated Governing Council; and
- Enable a current GLawyer to freely express his or her views on whether any individual candidate in the Nominated Governing Council is unsuitable for confirmation by the Senate of the Committee.
Though not a membership-based association but a pro bono academic services committee, GLC is under a strict constitutional obligation to reject the candidacy of any proposed candidate of the Nominated Governing Council, if no less than a simple majority of all current GLawyers participated in Popular Deliberation during the designated period before election, and no less than a simple majority of these current GLawyers expressed their objections to the concerned candidate.
In any case - even when both thresholds are not met - opinions of current GLawyers collected through Public Deliberation will be compiled and consolidated, and be given due consideration and material weight in the decision-making processes of GLC.
