JJUA55272U Making and Breaking Constitutions

The course Making and Breaking Constitutions draws on contemporary constitutional developments, cases and controversies that have in recent years put domestic constitutions around the world to a test. We will cover contentious topics, such as the Brexit referendum, abusive constitutionalism, and decisions of various constitutional courts on unamendability.

The course deals comparatively with constitutional texts, their design, and shortcomings. You will learn about foundational concepts, institutions, and ideas that underpin the architecture of a modern constitutional state.

Although the course is primarily advertised for MA students, it is also open to interested BA students provided that they already had a general course on constitutional law. The course takes on advanced theories but is designed in a way that even students with little previous knowledge should be able to keep up.

Students are expected to read the required reading beforehand so that we can discuss the material in the class.

The course is structurally divided into three segments:

• Part one, on Comparative Matters, will provide students with a theoretical baseline of the origins, nature, issues and methodology of comparative public law. The question is why and how do we compare constitutions?
   
• Part two, on Constitutions, Constitution-making, and Change, examines in a comparative context what do constitutions constitute, and how are they made. We will cover the theory of constitutional amendment, so that we may later understand abusive constitutional change.
   
• Part three, on Breaking Constitutions, oexamines the theory of unconstitutional umendments, abusive constitutional practice, back-sliding. We will look at challenges to modern constitutions to understand how they may fail.