Global Canons in an Age of Contestation: Debating Foundational Texts of Constitutional Democracy and Human Rights

This edited collection asks what texts are key to our understanding of the shared values of constitutional democracy and human rights from a comparative law perspective. The volume explores this idea of 'canonical' texts as part of a broader conversation about the field and the future of comparative constitutionalism.

Sujit Choudhry, Head of Chambers, Haki Chambers Global, Michaela Hailbronner, Chair of International and German Public Law and Comparative Law, Law Faculty, University of Münster, Mattias Kumm, Inge Rennert Professor of Law, New York University School of Law

Sujit Choudhry is head of Haki Chambers Global, where he practices constitutional law both in Canada and globally. He previously taught at the University of Toronto, New York University, and UC Berkeley, and has been a visiting professor at Reichman University, the City University of Hong Kong, and the University of Melbourne. He has written widely on comparative constitutional law. His previous edited volumes include Security Sector Reform and Constitutional Transitions, Territory and Power in Constitutional Transitions, The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution, and Constitutional Design for Divided Societies: Integration or Accommodation?


Michaela Hailbronner holds the Chair for German and International Public Law and Comparative Law at the University of Münster. Michaela has published on questions of comparative constitutional law, European law, and human rights in a range of international journals including the American Journal of Comparative Law and the Toronto Law Journal, with her article on postwar German constitutionalism winning the inaugural Best Paper Award of the International Journal of Constitutional Law (ICON). She is on the Advisory Board of the International Journal of Constitutional Law (ICON), is a co-editor of Verfassung und Recht in Übersee/World Comparative Law and serves as Co-President for the International Society of Public Law (ICON-S) from 2024-2027.


Mattias Kumm is Inge Rennert professor of law at New York University. His legal scholarship mainly focuses on basic issues and contemporary challenges in Global, European, and Comparative Public Law. Beyond his current affiliations, Kumm has held professorial appointments at Harvard, Yale, and the European University Institute (EUI) among others. He is also founding co-editor in chief of Global Constitutionalism and Jus Cogens. Kumm holds an JSD from Harvard Law School and has pursued studies in law, philosophy, and political sciences at the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne, and Harvard University.