The Central And Eastern European Chapter Of The International Society Of Public Law (ICON-S) Conference At The Faculty Of Law, ‘Lucian Blaga’ University Of Sibiu, Romania: [12th April 2024]: Register By Early February 2024

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What Is ICON-S CEE?

The ICON-S CEE Chapter was established in April 2018 in Budapest. Its mission is to promote the values of the International Society of Public Law and, in particular, its commitment to an interdisciplinary approach to public law that engages constitutional, European, administrative, and international law scholars and practitioners so as to better understand global and transnational legal developments. Our mission is to offer a space for local legal scholarship to grow and enter into a global dialogue.

The Central and Eastern European Chapter of the International Society of Public Law (ICON-S) is pleased to invite submissions to its 2024 annual conference taking place at the Faculty of Law, ‘Lucian Blaga’ University of Sibiu, Romania.

What Are The Details Of The Conference?

  • Conference theme:
    • Unwritten constitutionalism has captured scholarly and doctrinal interest. Unwritten constitutional norms and principles, constitutional conventions, and informal constitutional practices have come to preoccupy both the scholar and the judge, not least in reaction to the constitutional stresses experienced in recent years. The rule of law crisis and rise of authoritarian populism have exposed the fragility and sometimes blind spots of formal legal institutions. This has left open the question of whether constitutionalism’s defensive tools are simply inadequate or whether we need to recalibrate our focus towards its unwritten instantiation.
    • While experience with democratic backsliding may have brought it to the foreground, unwritten constitutionalism is not a new object of study. At various points and across jurisdictions, it has been discussed in terms of “the invisible constitution”, “the constitution behind the constitution”, or under the umbrella of the distinction between “the big-C and the small-c constitution”, to name but a few. 
    • Thus, while it may appear that it has much less relevance to the Central and Eastern European context, this conference aims to examine the understanding, scope, interpretation, and enforcement of 
    • unwritten constitutional norms, principles, conventions, and practices.
    • The history and the relevance of unwritten constitutionalism in civil law countries, especially 
    • those of Central and Eastern Europe, and possible comparisons to common law countries;
    • The interplay between unwritten constitutionalism and legal formalism in the region, and the impact of unwritten constitutionalism on other branches of law and/or on a particular legal system as a whole;
    • The conceptual and doctrinal boundaries of unwritten constitutionalism, such as the distinction between unwritten norms and principles and constitutional conventions;
    • Unwritten constitutionalism in the courts, including questions of recognition, scope, interpretation, and enforcement;
    • Specific types of unwritten constitutional norms, principles, and practices, such as those related to executive power, fundamental rights, judicial and other types of appointments, or constitutional reform;
    • Overlap with other concepts of possible constitutional relevance, such as “legal tradition” and “customs”.
  • Eligibility: Submissions are invited from scholars at all levels, from senior to junior scholars including PhD students. All areas of public law and all methodological approaches (doctrinal, theoretical, empirical etc.) are welcome. Comparative approaches are also encouraged. Scholars from typically underrepresented groups are especially welcome. Membership in ICON-S is desirable but is not a  requirement to participate in this conference.
  • Cost Structure: There is no cost to participate in the conference. Participants are responsible for securing their own funding for travel and accommodation. Conference organisers will make available a list of local hotels and travel links to aid in this process (see attached document).
  • Registration Process: Interested participants should submit a title and an abstract of no more than 500 words to iconceechapter@gmail.com.
  • Registration Deadline: The deadline for submissions is 22 January 2024. Notifications of selection for the conference will be sent out by early February 2024.

For More Information: 

Further details: With any questions, please contact the Chapter at iconceechapter@gmail.com.

CLICK HERE For The Brochure

CLICK HERE For The Notification

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