Constitution-Making and Constitutional Reform

Chairs
• Richard Albert richard.albert@law.utexas.edu
• Luisa Fernanda García luisa.garcia@urosario.edu.co
• Gonzalo Andrés Ramírez gonzalo.ramirez@uexternado.edu.co

Every year and in every region of the world, new constitutions are enacted and existing constitutions are revised. Constitution-making and constitutional reform occur in parliamentary and presidential systems, jurisdictions rooted in the Civil Law and Common Law, the Global North and Global South, and in countries ranging from full democracies to authoritarian states. Are there identifiable trends in these moments and processes of constitutional activity? Are they prompted by similar or dissimilar stimuli? Do certain regions of the world engage more frequently than others in constitutional renewal? Are there best practices and some to be avoided? What can we learn from successes and failures? Do courts have a role in overseeing these episodes? What is the optimal division of labour among Executives, Legislatures, and the people? How can we evaluate the legality and legitimacy of constitution-making and constitutional reform? What are the relative costs and benefits of formal and informal procedures in constitutional change? These are only a few suggested questions that may serve as a springboard for submissions to this Workshop.

This Workshop on constitution-making and constitutional reform is a forum to discuss all aspects of constitutional change from perspectives including but not limited to comparative, doctrinal, empirical, historical, sociological, and theoretical. Panellists are invited to focus on amendment, dismemberment, and/or replacement, in forms both formal and informal. The Convenors intend to foster an affirming, inclusive, and mutually supportive environment in which panellists may develop ideas into papers, draft submissions, and prepare papers for publication.