University of Liverpool – 23 January 2024
The University of Liverpool School of Law and Social Justice, in conjunction with the Liverpool Public Law Unit, will host a one-day symposium on unwritten constitutionalism which will bring together leading scholars on the subject from the UK and abroad. This call for papers is aimed specifically at Early Career Researchers (ECRs). We realise that there are many definitions provided for ECRs, but for this project we’re interested in hearing from those in the final year of their PhD study, or those that are within five years of attaining their PhDs.
One way of understanding unwritten constitutionalism is that it refers to the structuring of constitutional precepts around the absence of a controlling constitutional document, and the distinctive norms generated by that kind of constitutional structure. When compared to the functioning of written constitutions, these norms are often characterised by an ambivalent relationship with fundamental law, a lack of formal entrenchment, and an inability to be directly enforced in the courts. More positively, unwritten constitutional norms include an emphasis on democratic authority and political accountability, checks and balances derived from institutional tension and collaboration, and a strong judicial independence from the political branches of government.
This is an area of increasing importance given the failure of written constitutions to contain more authoritarian government, popular disengagement from politics, and perceived weaknesses in conventional forms of political accountability. We’re open to a wide variety of topics for submission. However, the following are some items that may relate to proposals:
- The textual basis of the written/unwritten distinction
- Unwritten constitutional norms and non-legal enforcement of constitutional norms
- Locating theories of parliamentary sovereignty in the framework of unwritten constitutionalism
- The role of the common law in supporting the development of constitutional norms
- Inter- and intra-institutional dynamics in examples of constitutional stability and change
- Accountability within unwritten constitutional settings
- Distinguishing unwritten constitutionalism from political and common law constitutionalism
- Performative aspects of unwritten constitutionalism (e.g., upholding rights, protecting democracy, etc)
Please send proposed paper titles along with a brief abstract (around 300 words) to Dr Brian Christopher Jones and Dr Edward Willis at: bcj@liverpool.ac.uk and edward.willis@otago.ac.nz by Wednesday 15 November 2023. Notifications of acceptance will be returned by 27 November 2023. As noted above, the symposium will take place on 23 January 2024.