ROUNDTABLE
Comparative Constitutional Law
3-5 December 2025
University of New South Wales (UNSW)– School of Law & Justice
Sydney, Australia
Organisers: Professor Rosalind Dixon and Dr Elisabeth Perham
About the Roundtable
The Comparative Constitutional Law Roundtable is an annual event organised since 2017, which gathers scholars from comparative constitutional studies (especially law and political science). The format focuses on pre-reading and peer discussion of draft texts, with speakers and discussants limited to 5-10 minutes.
Themes
Although the Roundtable always features a very wide range of themes, the 2025 event featured a significant number of papers devoted to key Demoptimism focus areas concerning democratic threats and resilience.
Related
For related discussion, see Demoptmism Director Tom Daly’s Working Paper (January 2026).
KEY PAPERS
How Constitutions Fail
Professor Mila Versteeg (with Adam Chilton)
Constitution-making without political commitment? Polarization, policy outcomes and failure in the Chilean Experience
Associate Professor José Francisco García García and Associate Professor Cristián Villalonga Torrijo
Sanctioning Judges: Judicial Independence from Foreign Executive Interference
Dr Anna Dziedzic
Responsive Constitutionalism and Democratic Participation
Professor Rosalind Dixon
Populist or Façade Constitutionalism? The Role of Legal Scholarship in Legitimizing Backsliding Political Regimes
Dr Wojciech Zomerski
Reassessing Economic Inequality: The Missing Link in Democratic Survival
Professor Juliano Benvindo
Democratic Resilience and New-Wave Constitutional Design Theory
Professor Tomás Daly
The Basic Structure of Judicial Power
Professor Rehan Abeyratne
Broadening the Focal Point: Separation of Powers and Legislative Oversight
Dr Bell Yosef
Supporting Free and Frank Advice
Professor Janet McLean