SOC001 Comparative Constitutional Law and Politics

Faculty of Law
Autumn 2021
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Ing. Mgr. Jaroslav Benák, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. JUDr. David Kosař, Ph.D., LL.M., J. S. D. (lecturer)
JUDr. Zuzana Vikarská, MJur, MPhil, Ph.D. (lecturer)
JUDr. Ladislav Vyhnánek, Ph.D., LL.M. (lecturer)
doc. JUDr. PhDr. Robert Zbíral, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Bc. Jan Petrov, Ph.D., LL.M. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
JUDr. Ladislav Vyhnánek, Ph.D., LL.M.
Department of Constitutional Law and Political Science – Faculty of Law
Contact Person: prof. JUDr. Ing. Michal Radvan, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Constitutional Law and Political Science – Faculty of Law
Timetable
Mon 20. 9. to Fri 17. 12. Wed 10:00–11:40 148
Prerequisites
Basic understanding of constitutional law.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 8 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/8, only registered: 0/8
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Constitutional supremacy and active judicial review – concepts that have long been major pillars of the American political order – are now shared, in one form or another, by over one hundred countries and several transnational entities across the globe. Consequently, constitutional law and courts have gained considerable political significance worldwide. This seminar offers a comparative examination of several core aspects of this global trend, and provides an opportunity for students to explore a topic of interest in that area. Instead of the traditional court-centric case law approach deployed in most comparative constitutional law classes, we will combine examination of comparative jurisprudence with exploration of new frontiers of pertinent legal and social science research concerning the origins and consequences of the worldwide expansion of constitutionalism and judicial review.
Learning outcomes
After the completion of the course, the student will understand comparative legal approaches (mainly functionalism) and challenges of comparative constitutional law.
The student will be able to analyze legal materials from different jurisdictions.
Syllabus
  • What drives the spread of constitutionalism?
  • The purpose and practice of comparative constitutional law
  • Constitutional Identity
  • Constitutional Borrowing and Cross-fertilization
  • Constitutional Courts in a Comparative Perspective
  • Contemporary Problems of Representative Democracy
  • New Democracies and Democratic Backs-sliding
  • Social and Economic rights
  • LGBTQ Rights
Literature
    recommended literature
  • JACKSON, Vicki C. and Mark V. TUSHNET. Comparative constitutional law. 2nd ed. New York: Foundation Press, 2006, xi, 52. ISBN 1587786044. info
    not specified
  • Mandatory readings are always included in a pdf form in the electronic syllabus (approx. 20 pages per class/200 pages per semester).
Teaching methods
lectures, reaction paper, final essay
Assessment methods
65% final essay; 10% reaction papers; 10% final paper outline & presentation; 15% class participation
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught each semester.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2003, Autumn 2003, Spring 2004, Autumn 2004, Spring 2005, Autumn 2005, Spring 2006, Autumn 2006, Spring 2007, Autumn 2007, Spring 2008, Autumn 2008, Spring 2009, Autumn 2009, Spring 2010, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Spring 2012, Autumn 2012, Spring 2013, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2021, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/law/autumn2021/SOC001