Russian Constitution in the Global Context
Thursday, June 27, 2024 9:00 am – 6:30 pm CET/GMT+1Humboldt University Luisenstraße 56, Room 220
Over the past decade, there have been a number of impactful constitutional experiments around the world, such as in Chile or Iceland, both in terms of innovative constitutional proposals and in terms of formats of constitution-making. Such experiments are intended to find answers to a number of challenges in constitutional thought. Contemporary constitutional orders are living through difficult times. Oftentimes, they are identified as the reasons for democratic deficit or obstacles to popular sovereignty. Similar concerns arise in the context of supranational constitutional developments, as well as national politics, when existing arrangements are under strain due to democratic backsliding or, conversely, due to demands for greater democratization.
This workshop will address these general issues by discussing the case of Russia. Its Constitution, adopted in the days of a powerful wave of democratization, raised hopes that it would help build a predictable democratic order. The origins of the Constitution in the major political crisis in 1993 have been the subject of much debate. Distorted by the 2020 amendments, it now serves as the legal framework for military aggression and domestic repression. Anticipating political changes in Russia, activists and experts are seeking to formulate alternative visions for a new constitution. However, it is crucial to situate the discussion of the prospective Russian constitutional order within the broader debate about the future of constitutionalism around the world.
The workshop will contribute to a conversation about these fundamental challenges and link them to specific historical developments in Russian constitutionalism, bringing together some of the leading theorists of constitutional and comparative law. Participants will examine alternative constitutional designs and evaluate how they seek to address some of the pressing political concerns. An experimental constitutional draft developed by the Institute for Global Reconstitution will be made available for discussion.
To participate in the workshop, please register on this page in advance.
Speakers: Evgeny Roshchin (Princeton University/IGRec), Artemy Magun (IGRec), Greg Yudin (Princeton University/IGRec), Caroline von Gall (Goethe University Frankfurt), Peter Safronov (University of Amsterdam), Ekaterina Mishina (Brīvā Universitāte), Tobias Rupprecht (Free University Berlin), Camila Vergara (University of Essex), Kim Lane Scheppele (Princeton University), Angelika Nußberger (University of Cologne), Silvia von Steinsdorff, Humboldt University Berlin
Email: [email protected]