[We have word of Constitutional History: Comparative Perspectives, a jointly sponsored conference by the University of Illinois College of Law and the University of Bologna School of Law to be held at the University of Bologna School of Law, November 13-14, 2017. H/t: Balkinization.]
Accompanying the spread of constitutional government around the world has been a profound interest in the comparative aspects of constitutional law. Scholars have catalogued the differing features of national constitutions and examined how different constitutional systems resolve common legal issues. So, too, judges faced with legal questions have sought guidance in the decisions of constitutional courts of other nations. While comparative constitutional law is therefore a well-established field, less attention has been paid so far to the comparative dimensions of constitutional history. The Illinois-Bologna Conference aims to address that shortcoming by energizing the study and analysis of constitutional history from comparative perspectives. The conference has several interrelated goals. It will provide a forum for presentation and discussion of current research on issues of constitutional history that crosses national boundaries. Relevant topics in this regard include such things as the origins of constitutional governments in different nations, changes in constitutional structures over time, comparative studies of the shifting roles of constitutional actors, the development of individual rights in different systems, and the legitimacy and longevity of constitutions in various nations. The conference will also bring together scholars who, at present, are working on constitutional histories of single jurisdictions—with the expectation that conversations among these scholars will allow for sharing of methodologies and point also to fresh areas of research that may transcend national boundaries. In addition, the conference has relevance to the task of judging. In some nations, notably the United States, constitutional history plays an important and sometimes decisive role in the resolution by courts of questions of constitutional law. The conference will take up the place of constitutional history in constitutional adjudication. By comparing the practices of courts around the world, the conference will trace the movement (or not) of constitutional history from the academy to the courthouse and examine the risks and benefits of modern practices.
Monday, November 13, 2017
09:30 - 10:00 OPENING REMARKS
Nicoletta Sarti (President, University of Bologna School of Law)
Giovanni Luchetti (Director, Department of Legal Studies, University of Bologna)
Giuseppe de Vergottini (University of Bologna)
Jason Mazzone (University of Illinois)
Justin O. Frosini (Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development)
10.00 - 11.30 KEYNOTE
Justice Silvana Sciarra (Constitutional Court of Italy)
Chair: Susanna Mancini (University of Bologna)
11:30 - 13:30 PANEL ONE: Challenges of Executive and Legislative Power
Catherine Andrews (CIDE, Mexico): “The Constitution Will Be Our Last Hope in the Monetary Storm:” Moderating and Conservative Powers in Mexico (1821-1841)
Francesco Biagi (University of Bologna, Italy): Separation of Powers and Forms of Government in the MENA Region following the “Arab Spring:” A Break with the Past?
Margit Cohn (Hebrew University, Israel): The History of Unilateral Semi-Formal Executive Measures: Their Origin and Evolution in the United Kingdom and the United States
Chair: Giuseppe de Vergottini (University of Bologna, Italy)
15:00 – 18:00 PANEL TWO: Constitutional Origins
Justin O. Frosini & Viktoriia Lapa (Bocconi University, Italy): The Arduous Road to Approving the 1996 Ukrainian Constitutional Preamble and its Legal Value Today
Dante Gatmaytan (University of the Philippines): Runt of the Litter: Former Colonies and Unattainable Constitutional Benchmarks
Mark Somos (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Germany): Sigonius’ Method: A Sixteenth-Century Italian Source of British Imperial Reform
Miguel Manero de Lemos (University of Macau, China): Too late for the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress to Take a Step Back?: The Basic Laws of Hong Kong and Macau as Constitutions of China and the Fall-Off of the “One Country, Two Systems” Principle
Chair: Jason Mazzone (University of Illinois, USA)
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
09.30 - 13:00 PANEL THREE: Judicial Authority and its Limits
Sana Alsarghali (An-Najah University, Palestine): The First Palestinian Constitutional Court: A New Hope or a False One?
Elena Ferioli (University of Bologna, Italy): From Seriatim to Dissent: An Historical Overview of Opinion-Delivery Practices in the United States and Canada
Mario Alberto Cajas Sarria (ICESI, Colombia): Judicial Review of Constitutional Amendments in Colombia in a Political Historical Perspective, 1953-2016
Fabian Duessel (Association of Asian Constitutional Courts, South Korea): Origins and Evolution of Constitutional Complaint in South Korea and Taiwan
Chair: Justin Frosini (Bocconi University, Italy)
14:30 - 17:00 PANEL FOUR: Membership: Inclusion and Exclusion
Menachem Mautner (Tel Aviv University, Israel): The Dangerous Thinness of Liberal Constitutionalism
Noura Karazivan (University of Montreal, Canada): The Extraterritorial Scope of Constitutional Rights: A US/Canada Comparison
Gohar Karapetian (University of Groningen, Netherlands): Uniformity and Diversity: A Confrontation Between French and Dutch Thought on Citizenship
Chair: Susanna Mancini (University of Bologna, Italy)
