November 9, 2012

5th CEE Forum 2013 in Greifswald

The 5th CEE Forum for Young Legal, Political and Social Theorists will be held from Friday, 3 May to Saturday, 4 May 2013 in Greifswald at the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg in cooperation with the University of Greifswald.

The CEE Forum is a platform for young legal, political and social theorists who come from, currently study or work in Central and Eastern Europe or have a research interest in the region. The regional boundaries are understood widely. The target audiences of the conference are young researchers, espe-cially doctoral students and post-docs, without a specific age limit. As in the previous Forums, the conference will be organised in three concurrent panels and will put its special emphasis on two major general topics.

(1) Separation of Powers & Constitutional Review
In the first panel we are going to discuss two core elements of modern constitutional democracies: separation of powers and constitutional review. These ideas are of enduring timeliness in legal and political theory. We especially welcome submissions to answer the following questions: Is the separation of powers still applicable to the complexity of modern polities or is it of mere historical importance? How is this principle realised in the governmental system of the European Union? What is the exact meaning of the term separation and its manifold synonyms and alternatives? What is the “nature” of constitutional review: Is it jurisdiction, politics in the cloak of the law, something in between or even something totally different? What are the borders of constitutional review? How does the relationship between separation of powers and constitutional review look like: What is (or should be) the place of constitutional review in a power-separating order? Is it a part or the top of the judiciary or an own branch?

(2) Constitutional Rights & Obligations
The second panel is dedicated to constitutional rights and obligations. Most modern constitutions provide basic rights and freedoms for individuals and/or groups in order to protect them against encroachments by the state. Additionally, there is some general consent in constitutional theory, which fundamental rights a constitution should at least guarantee. In contrast, obligations are much rarer in the constitutional landscape. Even basic necessities like tax paying are often not elevated to constitutional status. Analogously, it is controversially debated in legal and political theory whether constitutions should impose certain obligations on its citizens at all. Against this background, we are expecting contributions to discuss the following questions: Should constitutions incorporate obligations or do obligations systematically violate the basic principles of liberal and democratic polities? How are constitutional obligations related to constitutional rights – both normatively and empirically? In particular, how do obligations influence liberty rights? Finally, which perspective do concurrent theories of democracy take on constitutional obligations, for instance on the idea of compulsory voting?

(3) Open Panel
In order to meet the diverse interests of the Forum’s participants from different disciplines, the third panel will be open to all interesting topics from the vast area of legal, political and social theory.

The conference language is English. An up to 500 words abstract, indicating the preferable panel, should be submitted in the available application form by 31 December 2012 to cee-forum2013@uni-greifswald.de. Acceptance of the papers will be communicated by 31 January 2013. Participation without presentation is possible as well. In that case the deadline is 20 April 2013; please use the application form, too.

The conference fee for all participants is 50,- €. All participants will obtain conference material, drinks and snacks during the breaks, and altogether three meals. Participants shall make arrangements and pay for their accommodation individually. Please note the information on lodging options and directions.

For all updated information and application forms please visit the conference website: http://www.cee-forum.org/2013

Contact email: cee-forum2013@uni-greifswald.de

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