JPJ2047H1F L0101

Undergraduate Course Code: LAW409H1F L0101

Comparative Constitutional Law and Politics

Themes

Constitutional supremacy – a concept that has long been a major pillar of American political order – is now shared,
in one form or another, by over one hundred countries across the globe. This course offers an examination of various
jurisprudential and political aspects of this trend. It combines an examination of comparative constitutional law with exploration
of new frontiers of pertinent social science research concerning the origins and consequences of the worldwide expansion of
constitutionalism and judicial review. Among the topics covered: the epistemology and methodology of comparative
constitutional law; mapping the world of new constitutionalism from leading democracies and supra-national entities to various
semi-democratic and non-western settings; theories of constitutional transformation; models of judicial review and the
international migration of constitutional concepts; patterns of substantive convergence and enduring divergence in comparative
constitutional jurisprudence; comparative constitutionalism and religion; constitutional courts, distributive and restorative justice;
theories of judicial behavior; constitutional courts and public opinion; constitutional litigation and social change; and the
judicialization of politics worldwide.

Texts

Comprehensive course packet.

Format and Requirements

A weekly two-hour seminar. Evaluation: participation (15%), comment paper and seminar
presentation (20%), and a 25-page research paper (65%).