International Conference cum Graduate Workshop: Constitutional Courts: Advocates or Notaries of Democracy?

The Department of Social Sciences of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Law and Society Institute, Law Faculty of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin are organizing an international conference accompanied by a graduate student workshop.

The central aim of both, the conference and the workshop, is to discuss if and how constitutional courts contribute to democratization or democratic consolidation. At the latest since the 1990s, when constitutional courts are mushrooming in all parts of the world, the institutionalization of judicial review is regarded as a key variable in the democratization processes. However, an empirical look shows that there is actually a broad range of patterns, reaching from very active “advocates” to more passive “notaries” of already established democratic achievements, and even to constitutional courts which actively try to slow down or stop any democratic change.

The Conference will focus on the role of constitutional courts in Central and Eastern Europe. The German constitutional court will also be considered as an historical example as well as an “Export-Model”. Studies involving courts from other (non)democratic countries are also part of the presentations. 

Workshop participants have the possibility to discuss their papers with the renowned experts Prof. Dr. Wojciech Sadurski and Dr. Alexei Trochev.

The workshop and conference are concluded with a public discussion opened by Susanne Baer, Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court, followed by a response by Prof. Sadurski.

• Call for Papers
  
• Conference Program (participants)
• Workshop Program (participants)
  
• Public discussion with Susanne Baer & Wojciech Sadurski: Challenges to Courts – Constitutional Courts as a Challenge
• Short conference report (German)

The conference and workshop are organized by Prof. Dr. Silvia von Steinsdorff, Ernst Fraenkel Professur für Vergleichende Demokratieforschung und die Politischen Systeme Osteuropas Institut für Sozialwissenschaften an der HU Berlin and Christian Boulanger, Institut für interdisziplinäre Rechtsforschung / Law and Society, Institute Berlin an der Juristischen Fakultät der HU Berlin, with the help of Judith Engelke,  Anna Fruhstorfer and Maria Haimerl.

This conference is kindly supported by