(Papers to be published in American Journal of Comparative Law and the International Journal of Constitutional Law)
This inaugural AALS Academic Symposium features one dozen scholars assembled in four panels to explore formal and informal amendment from a comparative perspective. The four panels are divided into two related themes. The first theme, Unconventional Forms of Constitutional Change, consists of two morning panels. The second theme, The Challenge of Formal Amendment, consists of two afternoon panels. The specific purpose of this Symposium is to pose and grapple with emerging and fundamental questions about how and why constitutions change. Its larger purpose is to inspire further research into comparative constitutional change.
Constitutional change is best understood in comparative perspective. We cannot fully appreciate the design, limits and implications of formal amendment rules without contrasting those rules with others. The comparative study of formal amendment rules illuminates the nature and pace of amendment, the comparative difficulty of amendment, as well as the purposes of amendment. Similarly, without comparative analysis, we cannot fully appreciate the possibilities and challenges of informal constitutional amendment via judicial interpretation, executive action, and legislative enactment.