Aims of the IACL
The Specific Aims of the Association Include:
- To develop a network of constitutionalists from countries throughout the world.
- To provide a forum for the exchange of knowledge and information about constitutional systems.
- To examine and compare common constitutional issues and phenomena.
- To anticipate new issues and identify approaches which might be taken to them.
- To offer a pool of experts from which teams might be constructed to examine and provide advice on particular issues.
More about the IACL
In the last thirty years, new constitutional systems have been developed in all parts of the world. At the same time, more established constitutional systems are facing unprecedented challenges, many of which are associated with the new global order. Despite the great differences between countries and systems, it is apparent that constitutional scholars and jurists throughout the world are grappling with many comparable problems. These include, for example, the manner of enforcement of fundamental rights (particularly the ‘second generation’ of social and economic rights), and the challenges posed by 9/11 and its aftermath to our understanding of the role and value of human rights. The growing number of judicial decisions at the supra-national and international levels also raises new questions for domestic constitutional systems, which are only just beginning to be tackled.
The degree of difference between constitutional systems depends of course on the history, culture and legal tradition of the countries concerned. The overriding objective of the IACL is to provide a forum in which constitutionalists from all parts of the world can begin to understand each other’s systems, explain and reflect on their own, and engage in fruitful comparison, for a variety of purposes. To this end, the Association endeavours to ensure that its processes and activities are suited to its diverse membership, whilst at the same time retaining the scientific and scholarly approach on which the credibility of its work depends.