Roles of Constitutional Courts

in Times of Constitutional Changes and State of Emergency

On October 1 and 2, the Second Eurasian Forum on Constitutional Justice took place in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Forum in Astana continued the discussion that began on November 8-9, 2024 in Bishkek.

The two-day conference was attended by more than 50 experts, as well as representatives of constitutional courts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Poland, and the United Kingdom.
The Сonference participants discussed the roles of constitutional justice tribunals in recent processes of constitutional and political transformation, including constitutional reforms in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan, as well as constitutional changes in Central and Eastern European countries. The varying participation of constitutional justice in these processes is influenced by both broader legal development integration trends in the post-Soviet region and Central and Eastern Europe, and the specific legal opinions of national constitutional courts, which are shaped by each country's political systems and judicial doctrines. In this context, particular attention was given to decisions made by constitutional courts during power transitions resulting from constitutional reforms or states of emergency.

The Сonference provided a unique opportunity to summarize the positions of constitutional courts and the arguments of their critics, offering general insights into the courts' independence, the legal validity and legitimacy of their decisions, and the state of constitutionalism in these countries. 

As a result of the conference, publications will be published in the journals “Comparative Constitutional Review” and “International Justice”.

Conference programme with selected presentations, list of speakers and photo gallery are below.