Public Lecture: The Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendment Doctrine in Africa – Between Colonial Legacy and Constitutional Innovation; Speaker: Prof. Markus Böckenförde
October 20 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Discussants:
Prof. Henry Kwasi Prempeh, Director CDD Ghana
Prof. (em.) Christina Murray, University of Cape Town
Abstract:
The doctrine of unconstitutional constitutional amendments is one of the most vibrantly debated aspects of constitutional theory in recent times. It addresses the question of whether and to what extent the power to formally change the constitution is limited. Innovative constitutional design and advanced judicial interpretations in African countries have significantly challenged conventional understandings of the doctrine, contributing to its global development.
The lecture will provide an overview over the status of the UCA-doctrine in Africa and its recent dynamic developments.
Markus Böckenförde is associate professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at the Department of Legal Studies at the Central European University and the Chair of the Global Comparative Constitutional Studies program and the founding Co-Director of CEU’s annual Summer University Course ‘Constitution Building in Africa’. Before that he was the Head of Africa Projects and a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (MPIL) in Heidelberg (2001-2008) and the Founding Executive Director of the Centre for Global Cooperation Research at the University Duisburg-Essen (2012-2018).
He gained first-hand practical experience in political decision-making processes as the head of the advisory team to the Policy Planning Staff at the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (2011–2012). He was also a Program Officer and temporarily Acting Program Manager for the Constitution Building Program at International IDEA in Stockholm, Sweden (2009–2011).
Seconded by the German Foreign Office, he served as a legal expert to the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC) in Sudan (2006–2007).
He has worked as a consultant on constitutional issues for the UN, UNDP, GTZ, DAAD, International IDEA, the German Foreign Office, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Additionally, he is the co-author of International IDEA’s Practical Guide to Constitution Building, Judicial Review Systems in West Africa, and several Max Planck Manuals on Constitution Building.
This lecture is open to the public.
For virtual participation via Zoom, please use the following link:
https://uni-freiburg.zoom-x.de/j/63275237169?pwd=nPAfANTjM1lhfeYbJk3tht0uL42J9z.1
Meeting-ID: 632 7523 7169
Code: 7MYRRD2x0
