Workshop

Lessons from Europe’s and Canada’s constitutional experiences

WP 2 - Constitutional politics 

WP 2 events

Oslo, 20-21 March 2009

Venue: Holmenkollen Park Hotell Rica (how to get there)

Meeting room Jacob Vaage

Organised by ARENA - Centre for European Studies, University of Oslo

In cooperation with:
Nordic Association for Canadian Studies (NACS)
European Network for Canadian Studies (ENCS)

Co-funded by DFAIT (Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada)

Workshop summary (D31) (pdf)

Download Reimbursement form (Word)

Download List of participants (Pdf)

This workshop is organised within RECON's work package 2, which deals with (a) the constitutionalisation of the EU, (b) the Europeanisation of national constitutions, and (c) comparisons of constitutionalism in the EU and in other selected entities. Read more on the research objectives of WP 2 and on the overall research objectives of RECON.

The purpose of this workshop is to compare the EU with Canada (a multinational and multicultural state), in an area that is of particular relevance to democracy and also to the present European situation: the representative and participatory character of constitution-making and their link to constitutional failure. Workshop outline.

Workshop publication

The contributions to the workshop are published in:

RECON Research Report WP 2: 'Lessons from Europe's and Canada's Constitutional Experiences', edited by John Erik Fossum (ARENA), April 2011.

Programme

Download pdf

Friday, 20 March 2009
09:00-09:20	Introduction John Erik Fossum Background paper: 'Europe’s Challenge: Reconstituting Europe or Reconstituting Democracy?' by Erik O. Eriksen and John Erik Fossum Background paper: 'On democratizing European constitution making: Possible lessons from Canada's experience' by John Erik Fossum (Supreme Court Law Review, 2007)
I – Overview of the Canadian and the European constitutional experiences
09:20-10:10	Canada's and the EU's engagement in constitutional reform: A comparative overview Peter Russell, University of Toronto
10:10-11:00	Closer to the citizens? European constitutional processes, communication policy and publicity Giulio Itzcovich, Università degli Studi di Brescia
11:00-11:30	Coffee break
11:30-12:20	Fashioning democratic constitutions for multinational entities: Reflections on the comparability of the EU and Canada (co-author Agustín J. Menéndez) John Erik Fossum, ARENA, University of Oslo
12:20-13:00	Discussant: Hans-Jörg Trenz, ARENA, University of Oslo
13:00-14:00	Lunch buffet, Restaurant 'De Fem Stuer' Welcome by Jillian Stirk, Canada's Ambassador to Norway
II – Chartered constitutional refashioning of community
14:00-14:50	Chartered constitutional refashioning of community: Less thorough-going than it was projected to be? Jeremy Webber, University of Victoria
14:50-15:40	European constitution making and the role of gender (co-author Sara Clavero) Yvonne Galligan, Queen’s University Belfast
15:40-16:10	Coffee break
16:10-17:00	Canadian constitution making and the role of gender Marilou McPhedran, University of Winnipeg
17:00-17:30	Discussant: Cathrine Holst, ARENA, University of Oslo
17:30-18:00	General discussion
19:30	Dinner at Restaurant 'De Fem Stuer'
Saturday, 21 March 2009  III – Democratizing constitution-making
09:15-10:05	Democratizing constitution making: Reflections on the Canadian experience Patrick Fafard, University of Ottawa
10:05-10:55	Reconceiving democratic constitutionalism for multi-national polities: Do the cases of the EU and Canada point in similar directions? Ben Crum, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
11:00-11:30	Coffee break
11:30-12:20	The complexity of the word 'no': An appraisal of the EU’s procedures for Treaty change Christopher Lord, ARENA, University of Oslo
12:20-13:00	Discussant: Carlos Closa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC)
13:00-14:00	Lunch buffet, Restaurant 'De Fem Stuer'
IV – Constitutional reform failure
14:00-14:50	Does the world need more Canada? John Erik Fossum, ARENA, University of Oslo
14:50-15:40	Integration through constitutional synthesis: The peculiar political order and constitutional law of the European Union Agustín José Menéndez, University of León (presented by John Erik Fossum)
15:45-16:15	Coffee break
16:15-17:15	General discussion
Concluding reflections
17:15-17:45	Erik O. Eriksen, ARENA, University of Oslo
19:30	Common departure from the hotel 20:00 Dinner at Bølgen & Moi, Briskeby

For practical information, please contact Marit Eldholm, ARENA For further information, please contact John Erik Fossum (co-leader WP 2)