Solange 50th Anniversary Conference
Constitutionalism Beyond the State and the Role of Domestic Constitutional Courts
Almost fifty years have passed since the German Federal Constitutional Court rendered one of its most widely discussed and influential decisions: Solange I. On May 29, 1974, the Court famously held that it would review European Community law by the standards of German constitutional law as long as the Community had not received a catalogue of fundamental rights, which is adequate in comparison with the catalogue contained in the German Basic Law.
It is not our intention to “celebrate” Solange I, but to revisit the landmark decision critically; to reassess its historical context, its legacy, and its significance today with the benefit of fifty years of academic reflection; to trace the ensuing transformational judicial and political development; to examine the various and partially competing narratives flowing from the decision; to analyze Solange as an integral part of the European constitutional heritage and consider it as a prism to study European constitutional history.
The conference is organized by Mattias Kumm, Kriszta Kovács and Andrej Lang and will include renowned speakers such as Doris König (German Federal Constitutional Court), Karen J. Alter (Northwestern University) and Eyal Benvenisti (University of Cambridge), among others.
We look forward to welcoming you to the Solange 50th Anniversary Conference. Attendance is free of charge; however, the number of participants is limited to 125. To register, please send an email to solange-conference@wzb.eu by Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
Please also indicate whether you are interested in joining the guided tour of the Neue Nationalgalerie following the conference on Friday, May 31, 2024, at 2 pm – the number of participants is limited to 40; entrance fee is not covered.
Please find the full program here.