The Congress
¨Cuba CON-PARA”: I International Congress of Comparative and Constitutional Law.
The science of comparative law is intrinsically controversial and innovative, since it introduces an analytical and transdisciplinary dimension to the study of law that concerns all its branches. In the framework of Constitutional Law, legal comparison becomes more complex due to the influence of many variables, among which history, context, identities, politics, systems, ideology. This ends up placing the comparativist in a difficult but highly stimulating position, to develop a deeper knowledge of the essence of Law. Therefore, the conscience challenge must be assumed, always in the light of ethics, tolerance and respect, therefore, without dogmas or schematisms.
These are the key points that will guide the 8 thematic axes (see attached) of the 1st International Congress of Comparative and Constitutional Law, "Cuba CON-PARA", to be held from April 4 to 6, 2023, whose venue will be the emblematic Hotel Nacional de Cuba.
Cuba CON-PARA will seek the exchange of knowledge and experiences among academics, researchers and other legal professionals from different latitudes. Through papers, communications and posters, different topics currently debated in constitutionalism will be developed. It will also be an ideal space to generate collaborative projects between institutions and participants.
The congress will have the special participation of Professor Emeritus Luigi Ferrajoli at the Roma III University.
Cuba CON-PARA is organized by the Faculty of Law of the University of Havana and is co-sponsored by several academic and research centers from Italy, Mexico and Cuba.
It will be a laudable opportunity to breathe science, culture and hospitality.
Wishing to be able to count on your company in Havana, cordially greets you,
Dr. Martha Prieto Valdés
President of Cuba CON-PARA
Professor Emeritus of the University of Havana
Thematic axis
The congress has been structured in eight thematic axes that cover the most important areas of constitutional interest. They focus on problems or profiles that are still matter of debate or that require a broader interpretation capacity, in such a way that it can place the congress within a critical pluriverse, with new creative energies.
Axis n. 1: Comparative Law: epistemology, analysis, implementation and challenges.
In an interconnected and multi-diverse world, comparative law is a more than necessary legal science. We are very far from the idea of the end of comparative law, which had been proposed when concepts such as global or transnational law emerged, the internationalization of constitutional law and the constitutionalization of international law. We invite researchers to reflect critically on these concepts, to reveal their limits and to value the potentialities of a decolonizing and anti-patriarchal comparison.Axis n. 2: Constitutionalism in critical perspective from the global South: identities, race, gender, intersectional approach.
The aim is to support a debate on all the identities that have been hidden or forgotten in classical constitutionalism, through historical and comparative analysis that do not necessarily have Europe at the center, or that critically review the consequences of the centrality of Europe in constitutional history. Therefore, the concepts of race and gender are suggested as indicators, without that list being considered exhaustive. Is it possible to think of a constitutionalism that is truly inclusive of all the vulnerable groups in our current society?Axis n. 3: Beyond the Nature-Culture dualism: the protection of the environment, ecosystems and Mother Earth.
The law is called to respond to the ecological, climatic and energy crises that put the survival of humanity on the planet at risk. This stands as the only truly global, but not globalizing, issue that jurists urgently need to address. The South of the world, with its own chthonic traditions, can offer new ideas and visions that today dialogue with the systemic and complex thinking of the scientific community. A reflection on the intersections between environmental law, sustainability law, nature rights, ecosystem law promises to stimulate new legal solutions.Axis n. 4: Latin America at the polls: impacts on forms of government.
The most classic topic on government systems finds in the cyclical electoral contingencies of Latin America a current test bench for concepts such as representativeness and representation, political and electoral system, division of powers or functions. Dialogue between the political and legal perspectives is always desired, although it is only sometimes applied and rarely shown to be effective. The comparative approach can contribute to strengthening this dialogue and its results.Axis n. 5: Constitutional reforms, beyond the procedure and constitutional rigidity.
The constitutional change has been a mechanism for resolving political tensions, which has ended up driving changes in legal paradigms, especially in Latin America. In some cases, the so-called reform clause ends up being an axiological-normative reference, transcended by the push of the sovereign, which has given unequivocal signs of its role as constituent power. On the other hand, the democratization of the procedure does not always lead to the material legitimacy of the change. These and other problems revolve around one of the institutions that it is impossible to fully analyze without constitutional law, comparative law and political theory.Axis n. 6: Citizenship in debate: plurality, interculturality, human mobility.
Which borders, which rights? Jurists continue to analyze migratory phenomena from the perspective of crisis and emergency law, without considering that human mobility, like the mobility of all living species, is an intrinsic element of ecosystems. Likewise, the theory of the State continues to be based on the elements elaborated since the peace of Westphalia. The nation-state no longer exists, but the proposals for the organization of the state are still anchored in federalist and regionalist theories, which do not always fit the new demands of plurality. Cultural diversity must be considered as intangible heritage of humanity, according to the definition provided by UNESCO, given the fact that it enriches us as well as the biodiversity sustains life. All this implies a constructive and integrative dialogue between the local dimension and the international and global one. There is a need for innovative proposals of governance and new institutionalities, which can guarantee sustainability of diversity, in words of Patrick Glenn.Axis n. 7: Instruments to guarantee rights in comparative perspective.
This issue, which along with fundamental rights continues to be the origin of most scientific contributions worldwide, needs a re-conceptualization, both from the perspective of the effectiveness of jurisdictional instruments (or also of the opportunity of the jurisdictionalization of each conflict, even in constitutional justice), as well as of its structure, which can replicate colonial power relations and domination. Reflective judiciary, for example, connects with the problems of representativeness of the identities presented in the thematic axes background.Axis n. 8: The "engine room" of the constitution.
The tendency of constitutions to incorporate extensive bill of rights, which characterizes especially, though not only, constitutionalism in Latin American, is not accompanied by an analogous attention to the organization of the powers (what has been called the "machine room"). In countries that have a tradition of presidentialism, there are no innovations about control over the executive and the limitation of their powers. In most parliamentary systems, the approach continues to be the search for governability and the strengthening of governments. In compared experiences, there are very few innovations that try to include the citizens in decision-making, which results in a distrust of these in politics. Often times, the courts, especially where there is open access to justice, become the true places of citizen participation. Consequently, the tension between political power and judicial power is even more emphasized, intrinsic in the relationship between democracy and constitutionalism. This axis wants to investigate the possible institutional innovations for a new organization of the powers, both in presidential and parliamentary systems, also including issues such as deliberative democracy and independent authorities.All the thematic axes described above are interdependent within a legal ecosystem. The division between sessions, in the end, is simply an instrument to organize the debate, which is conceived as a global and unitary discussion on the role of the constitutionalist and comparative jurist today. For this reason, the congress opens with a paper on the methodology of legal comparison by Prof. Lucio Pegoraro, followed by a reading of the role of cuban constitutionalism in the dynamics of the circulation of formants; in the closing there will be a reflection on the most urgent challenges that cuban constitutionalism must face, as a counter-hegemonic order in a global and ideologized context; to end up with an inclusive legal and cultural proposal, for the construction of a world of peace and harmony among living beings, by Prof. Luigi Ferrajoli.
We invite the entire academic community from a wide range of areas to participate in the event with their contributions, sending an abstract of his/her paper, communication or poster before February 15, 2023.
Scientific committee
Martha Prieto Valdés (Presidenta)
Professor Emeritus of the University of Havana and Head (Professor) of Constitutional Law, General Theory of Law, Legal Sociology and Comparative Legal Studies of the Faculty of Law of the same college. She serves as vice president of the Scientific Society of Constitutional and Administrative Law of the National Union of Jurists of Cuba and coordinator of the Section of Social Sciences and Humanities of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba. She has published numerous articles for scientific journals and collective works.
Rolando Tarchi
Professor of Comparative Public Law at the Department of Jurisprudence of the University of Pisa, since 1995. He chairs the Association of Comparative and European Public Law since 2019. He is Member by right of the Conference of Associations and Societies of Italian scientists. He belongs to the Scientific Committee of Diritto magazines European Public Comparison–Dpce online, Osservatorio sulle fonti.it, Rassegna diritto pubblico european. In addition, he serves as a peer reviewer for various scientific journals and editorial series.
Carlos Manuel Villabella Armengol
Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Camaguey. He completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Oviedo and the University of Valencia in Spain. He is member of various international academic networks . He has been a guest lecturer at various universities and institutions from Europe and Latin America. He has published numerous scientific works between articles, chapters and personal work.
Guillaume Tusseau
Professor of Public Law at the Sciences Po School of Law, in Paris, France. He is a member of the Institut Universitaire de France and Doctor honoris causa from the private University Antonio Guillermo Urrelo of Cajamarca, in Peru. In 2016 he was nominated to the Superior Council of the French Magistracy. He is currently the head of ‘Political institutions’ in the first year of the Collège Universitaire, in Sciences Po. He is a specialist in Constitutional Law and Political Institutions, Constitutional Procedural Law, Comparative Law, Theory and Philosophy of Law.
Irene Spigno
Professor of Comparative Public Law from the University of Siena. She worked as a researcher in Public Law and Comparative Public Law at the University of Siena. She has been Counselor of the University Council of the Autonomous University of Coahuila and member of the Autonomous Work Group for the follow-up of the dialogue between the government and families of people disappeared in Coahuila. She is an honorary member of the Citizen Council of the State Search Commission of the State of Coahuila from Saragossa. She is currently the general director of the Interamerican Academy of Human Rights of the Autonomous University of Coahuila and director of the Center for Comparative Constitutional Studies from this same research center.
Ramiro Ávila Santamaría
Doctor in Legal Sociology from the University of the Basque Country. Master in Law from Columbia University (New York). Master in Legal Sociology from the University of the Basque Country-International Institute of Legal Sociology (Oñati). Lawyer and graduate in Legal Sciences from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE). Former Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ecuador (2019-2022). Professor of Law of the Simón Bolívar Andean University-Ecuador Headquarters. Author of monographs and numerous scientific articles for magazines and collective works.
Itziar Gómez Fernández
Professor of Constitutional Law (2010) and Lawyer of the Spanish Constitutional Court (2011). He has given lectures and seminars on Constitutional Law, Human Rights, System of Sources of Law at the Carlos III University (1999-2021) and in several Spanish, European and South American universities (2004-2021). He has participated in numerous national and international research projects. He is a member of the Spanish Law Association Law (ACOES) and the Feminist Network of Constitutional Law.
Ghazi Gherairi
Ambassador, Permanent delegate of Tunisia to UNESCO (2016-2021). PhD in Public Law and Political Science. Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Carthage, Tunisia. He´s also teaching at the Diplomatic Institute and Tunis School of Politics. Investigator and principal of the Euro Arab Chair of Social Sciences at Universidad de Granada. He worked as an expert to a large number of international organizations as: UNDP, ILO, OECD, OSCE. He received the Lysistrata Award (2017) for his contribution to the resolution of violent conflicts by mediation.
Organizing committee
(Teodoro) Yan Guzman Hernández (Coordinador)
Professor of Constitutional Law and Theory of Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Havana, judge of the Family and Civil Chamber of the Provincial Court of Havana. He integrates the Cuban section of the Ibero-American Law Society of Constitutional Law. He is a member of the Technical Advisory Council of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic and of the Group of consultation and scientific advice and innovation of the auxiliary offices of the National Assembly of Power Popular. He belongs to the International Committee of the Diritto Pubblico Magazine European ed comparato and the Editorial Scientific Committee of Isegoría, Collana of Science Sociali.
Silvia Bagni
Professor of Comparative Public Law in the Department of Political and Social Sciences from the University of Bologna, in Italy. She completed a research doctorate in Constitutional Law from the same University in 2005. She is a member of the United Nations Program United “Harmony with Nature”; she is a founding member of the Centro studi sull'America latina of the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Bologna and member of the Italian section of the Institute Ibero-American of Constitutional Law. She co-chairs the General Magazine Comparative Public Law "Iustel" of Spain.
Andrea Pisaneschi
Professor of Constitutional Law and Economic Law at the Law Department of the University of Siena. He is a book author and writes essays on Constitutional Justice, Economic Law, Organization of the State, Political Rights. He is a lawyer and has collaborated with boards of directors of banks and financial institutions. Member of the Global Network for Electoral Justice and coordinator of international research projects on electoral matters.
Lorenzo Cuocolo
Professor of Comparative Public Law and Sustainable Development Law. He teaches at the University of Genoa and at the University Bocconi, in Milan. He is director of the Research Center "Sustainability and Law" and member of the Law Association of Comparative and European Public Law.
Riccardo Cardilli
Professor of Roman Law and Ancient Law, he is also the Director of the Center for Latin American Legal Studies at the University of Rome 'Tor Vergata'. He has been member of editorial and scientific committees of various scientific journals, editorial collections and collective works. In 2019, he was awarded the title Doctor Honoris Causa by the Russian University of Omsk – Fëdor M. Dostoevskij. He has published numerous scientific articles.
Alejandro González Monzón
Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Law at the Law School of the University of Havana and professor at the Judiciary Training School of the People's Supreme Court. He has a master's degree in Constitutional and Administrative Law by the University of Havana and in Global Law and Constitutional Democracy by the universities of Genoa and Girona. He serves as secretary of the Editorial Board of the Cuban law magazine. He chairs the National Youth Commission of the National Union of Jurists of Cuba.
Karel Luis Pachot Zambrana
Professor of General State Theory and Constitutional Law at the "Universidad de Oriente (Santiago de Cuba)". Coordinator/Promoter of the Iberoamerican Network of Researchers in Law and Sport Management. He is member of the Iberoamerican Institute of Constitutional Law (Peru) and the Iberoamerican Institute of Constitutional Law (Mexico). Guest professor at various universities and institutions of several countries including Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Venezuela and Cape Verde. Author of numerous articles in specialized journals, collective works and books.
José Antonio Estrada Marún
Professor and researcher at the Inter-American Academy of Human Rights of Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Mexico. Doctor in Public Law from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. He is currently Academic Secretary of the Inter-American Academy of Human Rights.
Secretary
Melissa Cepero Lantigua (Coordinadora)
“Trained teacher” (adiestrada) of the Faculty of Law of the University of Havana. She teaches Economic Law and she is part of the collective of the Main Integrating Discipline (that discipline deals with the student practices and their integration into the labour market once they get their degree).
Valentina Carlino
Comparative Public Law researcher at the Department of commercial and legal studies of the University of Siena. Member of the DIPEC. She is assistant professor of Comparative Law at University of Siena where she also teaches Principles of Law.
Amanda Laura Prieto Valdés
Assistant professor of Constitutional Law, Legal and State Theory at the Faculty of Law of the University of Havana where she is also in charge of institutional communication. She completed a master degree in Constitutional and Administrative Law. In addition, she is member of the editorial council of the Cuban Law Review.
Karin Kristina Reiber
Doctorate student of Constitutional Comparative Law at the University of Tubinga, Germany. Master (LL.M) in International Law from London Metropolitan University.
Chiara Cerbone
Currently she is a Ph. D law student at University of Siena in joint organization with the National University of Distance Education (known as UNED).
Patrick Junior Aliance
Last year student of the Faculty of Law of the University of Havana, he is teacher´s aid of Legal Theory and Constitutional Law. He won several awards in student scientific events.
Camila Izquierdo Domínguez
Last year student of Social Communication of the Faculty of Communication of the University of Havana. Member of the organizing committee of the Fair “Calei2copio” 2020 and 2022, communication coordinator of Havmun 2022. She is collaborating as a communication specialist at the Nicolás Guillén Foundation.
Associated publications
The Cuban Law Review (RCD) is a biannual publication (January-June/July-December) of a scientific nature, arbitrated through the double-blind system, open access, and aimed mainly at the national and international legal community. It publishes original and unpublished results of legal research in Spanish and English, under internationally standardized publication standards, inspired by the code of the Publication Ethics Committee (COPE), aimed at editors as well as reviewers and authors. It dedicates 90% of the content of each edition to the publication of original articles and 10% to topics related to the popularization of science. It is published in printed format (ISSN: 0864-165X, RNPS: 0075) and, since 2021, in electronic version (ISSN: 2788-6670, RNPS: 2302).
The General Journal of Comparative Public Law (IUSTEL) is a biannual publication (July/December) of a scientific nature, a modern research instrument focused particularly on comparative methodology. It is dedicated to legal research whose novelty lies in the treatment of law from a multidisciplinary perspective –basically from public law, although for some issues it is also necessary to resort to private law and other disciplines–, and from comparative methodology, a central element of the Journal that allows observing the circulation of models, the construction of classes and the creation of dogmatic categories that provide a certain general value.