Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Faculteit: Recht en Criminologie

Conseil européen de la Recherche

Conference / Colloque

Constitutional precedence as keystone of modern constitutionalism

maandag, 14 maart, 2016 (9:00) / 14 mars 2016 (9h)

Brussel / Bruxelles

Invitation

Mme le Professeur Müßig, titulaire de la Chaire de Droit Civil et de l’Histoire du Droit allemand et européen à l’Université de Passau, Allemagne, et lauréat de l’Advanced Grant du Conseil européen de la recherche pour son projet historique-constitutionnel « Reconsidering Constitutional Formation » est fière de pouvoir annoncer la Conférence « Constitutional Precedence as Keystone of Modern Constitutionalism » qui aura lieu lundi, 14 Mars, 2016 à la Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, Hertigsstraat1, 1000 Bruxelles. Les enseignants, doctorants et post-docs français de l’histoire du droit sont cordialement invités!

Présentation

What made modern constitutions so new? One of the key determinants of modern constitutionalism is the understanding of a constitution as a legal text, fixing the political order as a legal order. The concept of precedence of the constitution, which arose at the end of the 18thcentury, expresses this idea. Henceforth, the constitution became the single, uniform document measuring the legality of all political acting as well as of all legislation. This conference brings together experts from a variety of national contexts to investigate the genesis, the functioning and the evolution of the precedence of constitution.

The conference is organized by the VUB research team CORE – Contextual Research in Law and the Comité Rechtsgeschiedenis of the KVAB – Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, and supported by the KVAB as a Contactforum. They invite the international research project ReConFort – Reconsidering Constitutional Formation by Drafting, Practice and Interpretation in 18th and 19th century Europe (www.reconfort.eu) to open up its biannual meeting in Brussels to the public. ReConFort, under the supervision of prof. dr. Ulrike Mü?ig from the University of Passau (Germany), brings together graduated historians and legal scholars from six different European countries in an interdisciplinary investigation into the genesis of modern constitutions in Europe. It focuses on the cross-border interplays between constitutional process and public debates in late 18th and 19th century Europe. With this conference, the innovative approach and new insights generated by ReConFort are confronted with the expertise of eminent specialists from all over Europe.

ReConFort has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement n°339529.

Programme

9h. - Start of Registration

Moderation: Dirk Heirbaut

• 9h30. – The Rt Hon Lord Robert Reed (London): Re-thinking the UK Constitution
• 10h15. – Gerald Stourzh (Vienna): The Development of Constitutional Precedence and the Constitutionalisation of Individual Rights

11h. – Coffee break

• 11h30. – Ulrike Müssig (ReConFort/Passau)/ Shavana Musa (ReConFort/Manchester): Constitutional Normativism vs . Different Rule of Law-Concepts
  • A New Order of the Ages - Normativity and Precedence (Ulrike Müßig)
  • Different Rule of Law-Concepts (Shavana Musa)

13h. – Lunch

Moderation: Dave De ruysscher

• 14h30. – Frederik Dhondt (Brussels/Ghent-FWO): Missing Constitutionalism? Excessive Deference in the Constitution of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815)
• 15h15. – Sebastiaan Vandenbogaerde (Ghent): Vectors of National Law? Belgium’s Legal Periodicals during the Long 19th Century (1830-1914)

16h. –Coffee break

• 16h30. – Eirik Holmøyvik (Bergen): Norway’s Long 19th Century: Development of Judicial Review and the Debates on the King’s Veto on Constitutional Amendments
• 17h15. – Thomas Olechowski (Vienna): Legal Hierarchies in the Works of Hans Kelsen and Adolf Julius Merkl
• 18h15. – Final Discussion and Outlook to the Research Program of ReConFort (Moderation: Ulrike Müssig)

Registration

Registration price:

• Students: 0 €
• Members of researchgroup ReConFort/CORE: 0 €
• Other: 30 €
• Please register before March 8th 2016.

Description, programme et inscription:

https://www.vub.ac.be/events/2016/constitutional-precedence-as-keystone-of-modern-constitutionalism .