About the congress

“Sustainable constitutionalism” has a double meaning. On the one hand, it refers to constitutionalism’s potential to foster sustainable societies and democracies, particularly in addressing environmental challenges. On the other hand, it portrays the capacity of constitutionalism to maintain its core values related to human rights, the rule of law, and democracy, in the face of unprecedented social, economic, technological, political, philosophical and climate changes, as well as in contexts of armed conflict and their aftermath.

Constitutional sustainability is a play on words that highlights a crisis of constitutionalism but, at the same time, highlights how this can be maintained, and how to make it resilient and able to coexist in “new ecosystems”.

“Answers for a changing world” refers to current and forthcoming crossroads in constitutionalism. On the one hand, the main values of constitutionalism (human rights, democracy and the rule of law) have spread globally.

Convergences occur at many levels: between constitutional law and international law; between national and regional courts; and the collaboration of government and private actors in realising human rights. On the other hand, the original idea of constitutionalism is not necessarily self-evident or absolute anymore. First, democracy has been challenged vehemently all over the world. Second, the role of the courts has been weakened by some authoritarian/populist governments, and some courts themselves have taken a more moderate role as defenders of the constitution. Last but not least, constitutionalism faces unprecedented challenges in the XXI century: climate change, epidemics, poverty, excessive concentration of wealth and economic power, armed and social conflicts, and artificial intelligence bring about serious threats to democracy, rule of law, human rights, and the very existence of human as well as non-human species. This shed light on the actual need for interdisciplinary answers to real threats.

We need to ask whether the constitution is part of the solution or part of the problem. It is time to explore the achievement and limits of constitutionalism outside the traditional sphere of constitutional studies. Multi- and interdisciplinary methodologies are essential to approach complicated and multifaceted questions of climate change, globalization and evolving technology (such as AI), among others. We should revisit and reconstruct basic concepts, ideas and theories of constitutionalism thoroughly and exhaustively (beyond the dichotomy of global South and North) through interdisciplinary dialogue and cooperation between constitutional studies and other academic studies to seek sustainable constitutionalism and answers for a changing world.

Academic institutions and professional organizations can support and incentivize interdisciplinary research collaborations between constitutional law scholars and practitioners across various disciplines, fostering innovation and cross-pollination of ideas.

We also need to reflect on methodological approaches to constitutional law, on the importance of facts, social actors, political situations, and markets, in constitutional interpretation, and the opportunity to reinforce (or criticize) alternative approaches to it such as legal ethnology and anthropology or legal geography. Dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge exchange among scholars, practitioners, and experts from diverse academic backgrounds, ultimately contribute to more holistic and effective approaches to addressing complex societal challenges through constitutional law.

The World Congress of Constitutional Law (WCCL) is the most meaningful event in this field, organized by the International Association of Constitutional Law (IACL). It is held every four years and brings together the most esteemed constitutional law scholars from all regions around the world. The Congress provides a unique opportunity to discuss the relevant issues in constitutional law.

In 2022, the Congress took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the theme of constitutional transformations. The event was organized in four plenary sessions and 33 workshops about poverty, discrimination, and Constitutions; the environment, climate Justice and the rights of nature; Constitutional governance in crisis; and Constitutionalism in the era of private power ant the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Notable constitutional law experts who participated in South Africa included Vicki Jackson, Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School, USA; Anne Peters, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, Germany, and member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration; Albie Sachs, South African lawyer, activist, writer, and former judge of the first Constitutional Court of South Africa; Francisco Javier Garcia Roca, Professor of Constitutional Law at Universidad Complutense Madrid, Spain; Akiko Ejima, Constitutional Law scholar at Meiji University, Japan; Bertrand Mathieu, Professor at the Faculty of Law, Université de Paris I, Sorbonne, France; Zaid Al Ali, Senior Adviser on Constitution Building, Iraq; George Katrougalos, Professor of Public Law at Democritus University, Greece, and former Member of the European Parliament; Sergei A. Belov, Dean of the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg State University, Russia, among others.

The WCCL has been previously held in the following cities:

• Belgrade
  From August 29 to September 2, 1983
• Paris
  From August 31 to September 4, 1987
• Warsaw
  From September 2 to 5, 1991
• Tokyo
  From September 25 to 30, 1995
• Rotterdam
  From July 12 to 16, 1999
• Santiago de Chile
  From January 12 to 16, 2004
• Athens
  From June 11 to 15, 2007
• Mexico City
  From December 6 to 10, 2010
• Oslo
  From June 16 to 20, 2014
• Seúl
  From June 18 to 22, 2018
• Johannesburgo
  From December 5 to 9, 2022