About the Course
What's it about?
Comparative Constitutional Law is both: an established field of comparative law and a vivid field of new developments and worldwide discussions in the early 21st century. Constitutional courts more and more take decisions of other constitutional or highest courts into account and borrow legal arguments from foreign jurisdictions. Questions like how constitutions operate in different states, whether approaches to regulating conflicts and new challenges are similar or different and which role legal cultures play attract a broad range of public as well as scientific interdisciplinary interest.
The objectives of this course are to explain the purposes and methods of comparative constitutional law, to provide knowledge of the allocation and regulation of power among the institutions of states with regard to different concepts, to introduce you to human rights and to discuss some of the modern worldwide challenges. Current debates, challenges and cases are a focal point. The course includes:
- Foundations of Comparative Constitutional Law
- Methods of Constitutional Interpretation and Comparative Constitutional Law
- Horizontal Separation of Powers and the Role of Parliaments
- Judicial Enforcement of Constitutions and Constitutional Courts
- System and Dimensions of Human Rights
- Modern Challenges and Debates like Torture, Right to Be Forgotten or Hate Speech
- Constitutionalism in the 21st Century
Learning outcomes shall be:
- Comprehension of constitutions and comparative constitutional law
- Analytical and research skills
- Reflection on the role of constitutional law in contemporary (world) society and on future developments
- Competence to apply the acquired knowledge to cases
- Capability to discuss problems and challenges in a structured and convincing way