Research groups | Groupes de recherche
IACL RESEACH GROUPSA number of research groups were established at the IACL World Congress in Athens in June 2007, as indicated below. In general, the research groups function autonomously of the IACL according to their own working rules and time-tables. Research groups may, however, choose to align their research with the theme of the next World Congress in Mexico City in 2010, and in any event use the World Congress as an opportunity to meet in person. If you are interested in joining one or more of these groups, kindly contact the convenor concerned. If you would like to establish a new research group, or if you are interested in finding out more about how these groups operate, kindly contact the IACL Secretary-General, Iain Currie, at GROUPS Constitutional Responses to Terrorism 
Between the Athens and Mexico City World Congresses, this research group will address a range of issues related to constitutional law, terrorism and counter-terrorism. Separation of powers, judicial and other means of controlling counter-terrorism activities, including intelligence agencies, the role of “security” in constitutions, constitutional powers to modify or breach international law and comparative analysis will be among the areas of interest. The group is chaired by Prof. Martin Scheinin who is First Vice President of the IACL and UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism. Convenor:
Constitutions in Context This research group pursues an interdisciplinary approach to the study of (mainly) European constitutions. Constitutional texts are studied not only for their legal meaning, but also from historical, cultural, political and linguistic angles. Constitutions are thus seen in their context as important documents and testimonies, not only of specific times and places, but also of values, mentalities and identities, and, of course, not least as documents of current political and social relevance. The principal methodology is a comparative approach leading to a typology of constitutions based upon their fundamental legal aspects supplemented and illuminated by the above-mentioned historical and cultural aspects. This research project will, apart from its obvious academic importance, also be of more general interest in bridging the gap between academic research and informed public debate. Convenor:
This research group, has its own web site here. The group originates from a research proposal made by Prof. Tania Groppi of the University of Siena and Prof. Marie-Claire Ponthoreau of the University of Bordeaux, during the World Congress of the International Association of Constitutional Law, held in Athens in June 2007. The research project that the Group furthers aims at surveying the use of foreign precedents by Supreme and Constitutional Courts in deciding constitutional cases. Its purpose is to determine – through an empirical analysis, employing both quantitative and qualitative indicators – to what extent foreign case law is cited and the reliability of the studies describing and reporting instances of “transjudicial dialogue” between Courts. Once completed, the research will also provide useful insights with regard to the extent to which a progressive convergence between Common law and Civil law traditions can be deemed to take place. Currently composed by 38 members, the Interest Group features the participation of scholars from several African, American, Asian, European, Latin American and Oceania countries, representing jurisdictions belonging to both Common law and Civil law traditions, and countries employing both centralized and decentralized systems of judicial review. The country reports drafted so far, together with other materials related to the research, are available to Members of the Group on a dedicated webpage. Convenors: For more information on the Interest Group, its activities and research, you may want to contact:
This group is concerned with the role of parliaments in increasing the accountability of the public administration. This topic may be supplemented with one or more subtopics. So far, colleagues from France, Poland, South Africa and the UK have reported their willingness to participate in this group. Other interested parties are kindly requested to address the convenor. Convenor:
The scope of this research group’s work includes:
Convenor:
The purpose of this research group is to study the nature and content of human dignity and people’s sovereignty in world perspective. Convenor:
This research group will provide a forum for the analytical and comparative study of existing and developing subnational constitutions and constitution-like documents in component units. Emerging questions include:
Challenging areas of interest also include analysis, comparison and preliminary evaluation of methods of replacing, revising, or amending subnational constitutions; constitutional politics at the subnational level; rights protections beyond those in the federal constitution; and processes of interpreting and enforcing subnational constitutions. The Research Group will encourage, support and make available the newly-developing literature and expertise of scholars and practitioners in subnational constitutional law. The Research Group will act as a clearinghouse for individuals and organizations interested in subnational constitutions and, hopefully, organize meetings to explore mutual interests. To download Robert Williams’ report on the workshop on Subnational Constitutions in Federal Constitutional States, held at the VIIth World Congress in Athens in 2007, click here. Convenor:
This research group aims to provide a focus for scholars and teachers interested in the practice of teaching constitutional law. Traditional approaches to law teaching vary significantly along several axes in different jurisdictions and legal traditions: legal education may emphasise doctrine or theory, address graduates or undergraduates, be presented in interactive seminars or as traditional lectures, involve final (oral or written) assessment or multiple interim assessment. There are also inevitable differences in subject matter in constitutional law subjects that emphasise the local national constitution. However, much contemporary legal education is open to influences from other jurisdictions and traditions; and legal education is currently being reconfigured in many jurisdictions. This research group will facilitate interchange and dialogue among scholars and teachers in relation to constitutional law subjects. It will enable:
Convenor: Associate Professor Simon Evans
Specifically, two trends pose daunting challenges to traditional approaches to reconciling constitutionalism and religion. First, in the context of globalization, large scale migration makes constitutional democracies much more religiously diverse. Such migrations also often lead to confrontations with religions and religious cultures that are at significant odds with prevailing mores and with religions that are well integrated into the country of immigration. Moreover, several commentators have argued that intensification of religious fanaticism and fundamentalism – including that behind global terrorism – is a direct reaction to dislocations and inequities associated with globalization. Second, the concurrent process of globalization and privatization has led to an increasing blurring of the line between the public sphere and the private sphere. In this connection, religion has become “deprivatized”, in a trend started in the 1980’s in countries as different as Iran, Poland, Brazil and the United States. Deprivatized religion not only seeks a much increased role in the public sphere but also in the political arena. As a result of this, reconciliation of constitutionalism and religion through adherence to secularism in the public place becomes increasingly difficult and contested. To “re-examine” principles, in general, and the relation between constitutionalism and religion, in particular, fruitfully in light of the above sketched circumstances requires an approach that is both interdisciplinary and comparative. Indeed, no single discipline or single constitutional tradition is likely to account for the complexity or of the far reaching implications of the profound changes that have taken place over the last quarter century. Accordingly, notwithstanding the mainly “constitutional-law approach” of the research group, one of the aims of the overall project is to foster a dialogue between legal scholars, political scientists, sociologists, philosophers and specialists in religious law and religious culture, coming from diverse constitutional traditions and from polities with very different religious profiles, different dynamics among prevailing religions, and different approaches to the relationship between religion and the state. Particular focus has thus far been – and will continue to be – placed on the United States, Europe, the Middle East, India and select countries in Africa and Asia. Moreover, it has been, and will continue to be, a high priority of the project to bring together and foment a dialogue among participants with differing attitudes towards religion, ranging from militant secularists who are defenders of French “laicité” to its Turkish counterpart – which leaves virtually no room for religion in the public sphere – to persons closely associated personally and professionally with institutionalized religion. Recent activities The members of the research group have held various meetings in Paris and organized a two-day conference in New York in October 2008. All of these activities resulted in the publication of a special symposium issue of the Cardozo Law Review, with contributions by: Daphne Barak-Erez, Leora Bilsky, Pierre Birnbaum, John Borneman, Murat Borovali, John Donohue, Ken Greeanwalt, Dieter Grimm, Guy Haarscher, Ran Hirschl, Marcela Iacub, Karl-Heinz Ladeur, Matthias Mahlmann, Maleiha Malik, Susanna Mancini, Andrew March, Frances Raday, Isabelle Rorive, Michel Rosenfeld, Andras Sajo, Gidi Sapir, Adam B. Seligman, Ayelet Shachar, Daniel Statman, Michel Troper, Francoise Tulkens and Patrick Weil. You can access all full-text articles from the Symposium at the Cardozo Law Review website here >>>. The next meetings of the group will take place in Jerusalem (April 2009) and in Budapest (June 2009). Convenor: Professor Hélène Ruiz-Fabri
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