Workshop - Asian Comparative Constitutional Law: Volume II - Constitutional Amendments

This is the second volume in Hart Publishing’s series on Asian Comparative Constitutional Law. This four-volume series provides the definitive account of the major themes and issues in comparative constitutional law in Asia. Volume II explores formal rules and practices of constitutional amendments in eighteen Asian jurisdictions. 

First, this edited collection examines questions concerning the formal rules for amending constitutions in their appropriate socio-cultural and political context. These questions include: Who initiates an amendment proposal? How is the amendment proposal adopted? Are there any features of the constitutions that cannot be amended? Does the constitution have different rules for amending different parts of the constitution?  How are the amendments codified? 

Second, this volume analyses issues surrounding amendment practices: Why is the constitution amended? How does the amendment process happen?  Who engages in the amendment process? How does the amendment affect the political system and society at large?  

Day 1: 27 April 2023

8:55-9 am – Introduction: Ngoc Son Bui (Oxford) and Mara Malagodi (Warwick)

9-10:30 am – Panel 1, Chair: Nick Barber (Oxford)

•  Ryan Mitchell, CUHK: Constitutional Amendments in the People’s Republic of China: A Powerful Tool for Party-State Coordination
•  Chien-Chih Lin, Academia Sinica: Constitutional Amendments in Taiwan (online)
•  PY Lo, HKU: Amending the Hong Kong Basic Law: Within and Outside the Rules (online)

10:30-10:45 am: Break

10:45-12:15 pm – Panel 2, Chair: Ngoc Son Bui (Oxford)

•  Akiko Ejima, Meiji University: Constitutional Amendment In Japan -'Unfeasible Amendments' Versus 'Unnoticed Amendments'.
•  Jeong-In Yun, Korea University: From Political Pact to People's Document: Constitutional Amendments in South Korea (online)
•  Gunbileg Boldbaatar, National University of Mongolia: Legal Regulations for Amendments to The Constitution of Mongolia: Its Practical Application

12:15: Lunch at St Hugh’s College

2:00-3:30 pm: Panel 3, Chair: David Vitale (Warwick)

• Andrew Harding, National University of Singapore: The Dynamics of Constitutional Amendment in Malaysia
• Eugene Tan Kheng Boon, Singapore Management University: More Than Just Amending the Singapore Constitution: Managing the Pace of Constitutional Change and Keeping the Constitution Relevant and Fit for Purpose
•  Jonathan Liljeblad, Australian National University: Constitutional Amendment in Myanmar: Constitutional Change & The Trajectory of Political Transition

3:30-3:45 pm: Break

3:45-5:15 pm: Panel 4: Chair: Akiko Ejima (Meiji University)

• Bo Tiojanco, Tokyo University; Paolo S. Tamase, University of The Philippines: Parrying Amendments: The Philippines’ Multitiered System of Constitutional Change.
• Rawin Leelapatana, Chulalongkorn University: Thailand’s 2017 Constitution: Constitutional Amendment in The Binary-Star Scenario.
• Benjamin Lawrence, NUS: From Post-Conflict Consensus to Regime Consolidation: Constitutional Amendments in Cambodia

6:30: Dinner at St Hugh’s College

Day 2: 28 April 2022 

9:00-10:30 am – Panel 5: Chair: Mara Malagodi (Warwick)

• Jashim Ali Chowdhury, University of Hull: Rules and Politics of Constitutional Amendment in Bangladesh
• Sarbani Sen, Jindal Global Law School: The Struggle of Constitutional Amendments in India (online)
• Mario Gomez, International Centre for Ethnic Studies: The Law and Politics of Constitutional Amendment in Sri Lanka (online)

10-10:15: Break

10:15-11:45: Panel 6: Chair: Rawin Leelapatana (Chulalongkorn University).

• Beibit Shangirbayeva, Nazarbayev University: Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan: History of Changes (online).
• Abdurrachman Satrio, Universitas Trisakti, Amendment Rules in The Magico-Religious Constitution: Indonesia’s 1945 Constitution (Online)
• Jeong Won Park, Kookmin University: Amendments of the Socialist Constitution of Kim Jong-un's Regime in North Korea.

11:45-12:00 pm: Break

12-12:45 pm: Panel 7:  Comparative Discussion, Chair: Andrew Harding (NUS)

• Ngoc Son Bui (Oxford): Comparative Constitutional Amendment in Asia
• Mara Malagodi (Warwick): Constitutional Amendments in Asia: A Contextual Approach.

12:45: Lunch at St Hugh’s College

Funding for the workshop is provided by Oxford’s Programme for the Foundations of Law and Constitutional Government.