CT, Forum of Federations and International IDEA Release Territory & Power in Constitutional Transitions

CT, the Forum of Federations and International IDEA, have released a policy paper, “Territory and Power in Constitutional Transitions”. To read more about the policy paper and to download it click here. Collective demands for the constitutional accommodation of territorial cleavages are pervasive across very diverse contexts. In many countries, political identification on the basis […]

CT and International IDEA Release Report on Semi-Presidentialism in Ukraine

Sujit Choudhry, together with Thomas Sedelius of Dalarna University and Julia Kyrychenko of the Centre for Policy and Legal Reform, released their report, “Semi-Presidentialism and Inclusive Governance in Ukraine: Reflections for Constitutional Reform” at an international roundtable on April 20 in Kiev, Ukraine. To read more about the report and to download it (in English and Ukrainian) […]

A Plea for Dialogue: An Open Letter on Catalonia

The Center for Constitutional Transitions, in partnership with the Edinburgh Center for Constitutional Law, has released an open letter on the constitutional crisis in Catalonia, “A Call for Dialogue”.  The coordinators of the letter are Sujit Choudhry, Director of the Center for Constitutional Transitions & I. Michael Heyman Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley; […]

Sujit Choudhry Speaks at Semi-Presidentialism Roundtable in Ukraine

Choudhry joined constitutional experts to discuss constitutional challenges in Ukraine CT Director Sujit Choudhry joined top constitutional experts in Kiev, Ukraine on July 10th to discuss the semi-presidential system of government in Ukraine and the constitutional challenges it is currently facing.The workshop was hosted by major think tank in Ukraine, the Center of Policy and Legal Reform  and the International Institute […]

IDEA Publishes Working Paper on Territorial Cleavages and Constitutional Transitions

International IDEA has published Constitutional Transitions and Territorial Cleavages, a Working Paper by George Anderson and Sujit Choudhry, as part of the  Dealing with Territorial Cleavages in Constitutional Transitions project.This Working Paper presents a framework for considering constitutional transitions that involve significant territorial cleavages. It is designed to assist political leaders, citizens and advisers engaged in […]

CT Clinic Releases Reports on Combatting Corruption & Decentralization

The Constitutional Transitions Clinic has released three more reports: “Combating Corruption: Constitutional Frameworks for the Middle East and North Africa”; “Decentralization in Unitary States: Constitutional Frameworks for the Middle East and North Africa”; and “Oil and Natural Gas: Constitutional Frameworks for the Middle East and North Africa”.Constitutional Transitions ran the Constitutional Transitions Clinic at the New York University School of […]

Choudhry & Ginsburg edit volume on Constitution Making

Sujit Choudhry and Tom Ginsburg have edited Constitution Making, published by Edward Elgar Press.The making of constitutions is both ubiquitous and poorly understood. It is ubiquitous because constitutions are a central feature of the modern nation-state, but do not generally last very long. It is poorly understood in part because of the sheer diversity of environments […]

CT Launches Meeting the Challenges of Emerging Constitutional Democracy Working Paper Series

Constitutional Transitions has launched the Meeting the Challenges of Emerging Constitutional Democracy Working Paper series is a resource for practitioners working in the field in countries undergoing constitutional transition and in new democracies where efforts are being made to consolidate the transition to democracy, and will also be of interest to scholars. The first set of Working Papers in […]

CT Workshop on “Ethnic Divisions and Power-Sharing: What Role for Human Rights?”

On 11 April 2014, Constitutional Transitions convened a workshop discussion, “Ethnic Divisions and Power-Sharing: What Role for Human Rights?” organized by Constitutional Transitions Director Sujit Choudhry and CT Visiting Fellow Christopher McCrudden.  The workshop was supported by the Straus Institute for the Advanced Study of Law and Justice and the Jean Monnet Center for International […]

Constitutional Reform Processes and Security Sector Reform: Expert Meeting Held in The Hague

On 3 & 4 April 2014, Constitutional Transitions convened the first expert network meeting for our ongoing research project, “Constitutional Reform Processes and Security Sector Reform: Principles for Practice,” in The Hague, Netherlands. The meeting brought together a global network of experts to present case studies on ten countries that have undergone security sector reform […]

CT Clinic Researchers Present Draft Reports in Tunis

From 30 March to 3 April 2014, the Constitutional Transitions Clinic travelled to Tunis, Tunisia. The clinic’s student researchers participated in a full-day conference on 1 April, presenting preliminary findings of research on issues of constitutional design in the wake of the Arab Spring, which the students have been investigating since September 2013. Working in […]

Dealing with Territorial Cleavages in Constitutional Transitions: Authors’ Conference held in Zaragoza

On 28 and 29 March 2014, the Authors’ Conference of our ongoing research project “Dealing with Territorial Cleavages in Constitutional Transitions” took place in Zaragoza, Spain. The project is a partnership between Constitutional Transitions, the Forum of Federations, International IDEA, the Manuel Giménez Abad Foundation, and the United Nations Department of Political Affairs. The Abad Foundation […]

CT Hosts Panel Discussion on Egypt’s Future

On 4 March 2014, Constitutional Transitions sponsored a panel discussion entitled “Egypt: What Does the Future Hold?” Panelists included Zaid Al-Ali (Senior Adviser on Constitution Building, International IDEA), Mohammad Fadel (Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair for the Law and Economics of Islamic Law, University of Toronto Faculty Law), Michael Hanna (Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation), […]

CT Hosts Book Discussion on “The Struggle for Iraq’s Future”

On 5 March 2014, Constitutional Transitions held a panel discussion on Zaid Al-Ali’s newly published book The Struggle for Iraq’s Future: How Corruption, Incompetence and Sectarianism Have Undermined Democracy. Al-Ali is the Senior Adviser on Constitution Building at International IDEA. Also participating on the panel were Andrew Arato, Dorothy Hart Hirshon Professor of Political and Social […]

CT Releases Reports on Constitutional Courts and Semi-Presidentialism

Constitutional Transitions is proud to announce the release of three reports as part of a series of thematic, comparative research reports on issues in constitutional design that have arisen in the wake of the Arab Spring. The first report, Constitutional Courts after the Arab Spring: Appointment mechanisms and relative judicial independence, discusses and analyses four models […]

CT Convenes Panel on Power-Sharing with UNU, UNDPA and the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations

On 13 February, Constitutional Transitions, along with the United Nations University, the United Nations Department of Political Affairs and the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, convened a high-level panel discussion, Managing Power-Sharing: Dealing with Challenges in Consociational Political Settlements. The event was held at the Permanent Canadian Mission to the United Nations, […]

Post-Arab Spring Constitutionalism: Revolution, Retrenchment or Renovation?

On January 20 2014, Constitutional Transitions Director Sujit Choudhry spoke at a World Bank event on constitutions and legal systems in the Middle East. The talk, titled Post-Arab Spring Constitutionalism: Revolution, Retrenchment or Renovation, addressed current debates over constitutional design, a subject of critical importance in the Arab region. Professor Choudhry discussed several core propositions about constitutional transitions that […]

CT Fellow George Anderson Publishes Volume on Federal Rivers

Constitutional Transitions Visiting Fellow George Anderson is the co-editor of Federal Rivers: Managing Water in Multi-Layered Political Systems, which has just been published by Edward Elgar in the United Kingdom. While there is a considerable literature on the management of river basins across international boundaries, this book is the first to take a systematic and comparative look […]

UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States’ Regional Center in Cairo Joins Clinic Partnership

The Constitutional Transitions Clinic is pleased to announce that for its second year, the United Nations Development Programme’s Regional Bureau for Arab States, through its Regional Center in Cairo, will be joining the existing clinical partnership with the West Asia and North Africa Office of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). This […]

Project Launch: Dealing with Territorial Cleavages in Constitutional Transitions

Constitutional Transitions is partnering with the Forum of Federations, International IDEA, the Manuel Giménez Abad Foundation, and the United Nations Department of Political Affairs’ Policy and Mediation Division for its research project, “Dealing with Territorial Cleavages in Constitutional Transitions.”  The project’s focus includes issues arising from particular territorial, political, and collective demands for constitutional accommodation in contexts of constitutional transition. With twenty-six […]