We conclude our conference with a fascinating panel on Unwrittenness and Informality in Regional and Global Constitutionalism looking at Democracy, the Rule of Law and Formalization. Thank you again to @justinbrno.bsky.social for hosting us and organising these amazing and inspiring exchanges!

Day Two of our conference on Unwritten Constitutionalism and Informality, co-organised with @justinbrno.bsky.social is off to a great start. After a very interesting panel on Informal Constitutional Bodies and Practices we are now looking at Constitutional Culture in Kenya, England, and Canada.

We kicked of the Unwritten Constitutionalism & Informality Conference today in Brno bettween JUSTIN and the UCNP project @ucnpproject.bsky.social organized also with Durham, EUI & uOttawa, within the ERC INFINITY & UCNP projects at Masaryk University.

Our afternoon sessions are going great here in Brno! After a very interesting panel on the conceptual differences between Unwrittenness and Informality we are finishing up the day with a look at Constitutional Conventions. Thank you so much to @justinbrno.bsky.social for hosting this first day!

The conference on Unwritten Constitutionalism and Informality, co organised by the UCNP Project and MUNI in Brno is off to a great start! After a very interesting panel on Constitutional Culture we are now reflecting on how the Unwritten Constitution might facilitate Constitutional Resilience.

🎉 Our team member Thomas Wischmeyer has started his new position as Professor of Public Law at @humboldtuni.bsky.social. Congratulations Thomas, and a great start to your time in Berlin! 🎉

New at Debating Canadian Defence: How many defence ministers does Canada have? open.substack.com/pub/philippe...

A selection of papers will be published in a special issue of the Review of Constitutional Studies, co-edited by @richardmailey.bsky.social, @vanessamacdonnell.bsky.social, @plagasse.bsky.social and @seanaglennon.bsky.social 📚

On 19 Sept, @centreconststud.bsky.social, @uodroitpublaw.bsky.social, the Barton Chair held by @plagasse.bsky.social & @ucnpproject.bsky.social will host a symposium exploring Canada’s unwritten Constitution, incl constitutional principles, norms & conventions & the workings of the machinery of govt

Sebastian Payne and I have a new article out in King's Law Journal. The article examines why the royal prerogative has been displaced for intelligence, but not international military deployments. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Wrote a piece - with Matt Nicholson - on whether dualism provides an effective guide to, or description of, the UK's relationship with international laws (tl;dr summary: not really). It will be coming out in the CLJ in due course, but you can read it *now* here: www.cambridge.org/core/service...

🗓️📣 Save the Date! The ICON•S 2026 Annual Conference will be hosted by University College Dublin in Dubin, Ireland 🇮🇪 📅 June 29 – July 1, 2026 Stay tuned—the CfP and further details will be shared soon!

$37.50 for a comparative study of fifteen legislatures and how well they hold the executive to account. How can you resist?

New season of TriCON seminars begins with Prof Hannah Birkenkötter @hbirk.bsky.social speaking about her new co-authored book The Rule of Law in Germany, with Prof Niels Kirst commenting, chaired by Prof Christiane Ahlborn @tcddublin.bsky.social

On 19 Sept, @centreconststud.bsky.social, @uodroitpublaw.bsky.social, the Barton Chair held by @plagasse.bsky.social & @ucnpproject.bsky.social will host a symposium exploring Canada’s unwritten Constitution, incl constitutional principles, norms & conventions & the workings of the machinery of govt

In her new article for Constitutional Studies, Silvia Suteu analyzes varied constitutional diagnoses and solutions for #democraticbacksliding in #Europe, asserting the centrality of #gender. Read more at tinyurl.com/2sevjkmb. Read our full issue on the State of the Field at tinyurl.com/bdd99zh8!

Roger Masterman and Matthew Nicholson, "The Dissolution of Dualism" (Cambridge Law Journal, Ahead of Print) Link: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The next Public Law Conference will be held at University of Cape Town, 1-4 July 2026. The theme is Public Law and the Future of Constitutional Democracy. 2026 marks the 30 year anniversary since the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. More details coming soon.

New by Patrick Lennox and me in The Hub: thehub.ca/2025/08/25/p...

Our team members @vanessamacdonnell.bsky.social and @plagasse.bsky.social have been cited in Saskatchewan (Minister of Education) v UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity 2025 SKCA 74 on the evolution of the Canadian constitution ⬇️

🚨 Exciting news for public law scholars: @icon-s.bsky.social ICON•S Annual Conference 2026 will be hosted in Dublin @ucdschooloflaw.bsky.social Centre for Constitutional Studies ⬇️

🎉 The ICON-S 2025 Annual Conference kicks off today-we’re excited to see so many important conversations in public law taking place! Best of luck to our project members who will be attending & presenting their research. Wishing everyone a great week of ideas, exchange & collaboration! 🌍📚 #ICONS2025

Our Summer 2025 Newsletter is out and you can check it on the link below: lnkd.in/dFJze_Ew --------- Notre Infolettre d'été 2025 est sortie et vous pouvez la consulter au lien ci-dessous: lnkd.in/dFJze_Ew @vanessamacdonnell.bsky.social @ucnpproject.bsky.social

A write-up of our June event (with some photos) on the relevance of unwritten norms for parliamentarians is now available on the UCL Centre for Democratic Constitutionalism website. I think it is fair to say the event was a success, thank you to all involved! www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/parliam...

This month, our project, in collab with the UK Parliament’s Public Administration and Constitution Hub & UCL’s Global Centre for Democratic Constitutionalism, held a workshop exploring the role of politicians & key parliamentary personnel in sustaining the unwritten dimension of constitutionalism

La conférence est organisée par Professeurs @vanessamacdonnell.bsky.social, Noura Karazivan, et Naiomi Metallic, et Dalhousie University - Schulich School of Law, Université de Montréal, et University of Ottawa. Nous tenons à remercier nos commanditaires JFK Law, ICON-S Canadian chapter, et SSHRC.

La Conférence du 150e anniversaire de la Cour suprême du Canada le University of Ottawa approche à grand pas, et nous sommes ravi.e.s de partager des mises à jour au programme de la conférence. Vous pouvez encore vous enregistrer: lnkd.in/eVN_uXUN

The conference is convened by Professors Vanessa MacDonnell, Noura Karazivan, and Naiomi Metallic, and by Dalhousie University - Schulich School of Law, Université de Montréal, and @uottawa.ca. We are very grateful to be supported by JFK Law, SSHRC, and ICON-S Canadian chapter.

The Supreme Court of Canada 150th anniversary conference at the University of Ottawa is fast approaching, and we are delighted to share some updates on the conference program. There is still time to register: lnkd.in/eVN_uXUN

In 2022, the @uodroitpublaw.bsky.social and the CIAJ held a conference to mark the retirement of Justice Rosalie Abella from the Supreme Court of Canada. I am delighted that an open-access collection flowing from the conference has now been published! utppublishing.com/doi/book/10.3138/9781552216712

On 2 June, the @houseofcommons.parliament.uk will collaborate with scholars incl our members @ucllaws.bsky.social, @durham-university.bsky.social & @uodroitpublaw.bsky.social on a workshop on the role of politicians & parliamentary personnel in sustaining the unwritten dimension of constitutionalism

Now out in the April 2025 edition of Public Law:

Registration is now open for this conference marking the 150th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada, which takes place 11-12 June at @uottawa.bsky.social Faculty of Law ⬇️

Slowly putting together a #FeministConstitutionalism starter pack: go.bsky.app/8XoUPR9 Please send in your suggestions for people to add. Let me know if you want to added or taken off the list.

The April 2025 issue of Public Law is now avail. on Westlaw feat. a themed analysis section - Race and Public Law - compiled by @vidyakumar.bsky.social. Papers are by Vidya, on "Race and the UK Constitution"; Shreya Atrey "A Common Law principle of racial equality?"; Tom Frost ...

How involved are legislatures in overseeing military and defence issues? Our new @stanfordpress.bsky.social book answers that question by comparing fifteen countries. "Overseen or Overlooked? Legislators, Armed Forces, and Democratic Accountability" www.sup.org/books/politi...

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! On June 10-12, 2025, the @uodroitpublaw.bsky.social, the @umontreal.ca and @schulichlaw.bsky.social will hold an academic conference to mark the 150th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada. Conference and registration details here: lnkd.in/esKJMbqR. Join us!

INSCRIPTION MAINTENANT OUVERTE! Le @uodroitpublaw.bsky.social, @umontreal.ca et @schulichlaw.bsky.social tiendra une conférence académique pour marquer le 150e anniversaire de la Cour suprême du Canada. Informations sur la conférence et les modalités d'inscription ici: lnkd.in/esKJMbqR

New Substack on the recent John Howard decision macdonnell.substack.com/p/securing-t...

In the spirit of proper preparation, I discuss three worst case scenarios for Canada over at The Line: open.substack.com/pub/theline/...

Dana Burchardt's @kfgintlaw.bsky.social and my book on the Rule of Law in Germany @hartpublishing.bsky.social's Rule of Law in Context series will be published Jan 9 - have a look here www.bloomsbury.com/us/978150996...

Reading Project 2025 as a Manifesto Manifestos have often prefigured constitutional crisis, revolution, and the overthrowing of legal orders. R. HOUGHTON (@ruthhoughton.bsky.social) & A. O'DONOGHUE (@aoifemod.bsky.social) on Project 2025 and constitutional change verfassungsblog.de/reading-proj...

Coming up in May, @aoifemod.bsky.social and I will introduce Series 4 of the Utopias Reading Group. Dates for diaries: 7th, 14th & 21st May. Get in touch if you want to be added to the mailing list.

Check out @vanessamacdonnell.bsky.social’s Substack here ⬇️

Our Trans-Atlantic Platform project - "Open Constitutional Democracy" - is now on Bluesky! Follow us @opencondemocracy.bsky.social for project announcements, including news about events and research publications. @davidvitale.bsky.social @ukri.org @odileammann.bsky.social @snsf-ch.bsky.social

New article from @royalhistorian.bsky.social and me in @politicalquarterly.bsky.social: "The Rules of the Coronation: Differentiating Convention from Practice and Custom" onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

What problems are there with the legislative process? Have they got worse? And what can be done to fix them? Join Meg Russell, David Natzler and @danielgover.bsky.social to discuss just this on 24 February. Sign up for this free, online event 👇

My draft article on the upcoming prorogation case, to be heard this Thursday and Friday:

Tomorrow! Join us for the launch of the latest edition of Canada Among Nations. Our keynote speaker will be the National Security and Intelligence Advisor.