Comparative
Constitutional Law

Who should be interested?

The programme is mostly designed for those interested in pursuing a career in academia as postgraduate researchers or lecturers in the field of comparative constitutional law. Within this broader area, the main focus lies on the problems of constitutional systems in the context of changes in the form of government, state establishment and state regime in a comparative perspective (topics such as the introduction of constitutional courts, constitutional aspects of the dealing with the past, judiciary selfgovernment, key issues of the application of fundamental rights in individual states, comparison of the nature and functions of public authorities).

The graduates of the programme will be competent in viewing legal issues from the broader perspective extending beyond the borders of individual countries and continents. This makes the programme interesting also for professionals from international organizations, domestic and international courts and other governmental units.

The approach

The programme offers both theoretical and practical training, provides a useful background for writing a thesis and adopting a broad scientific culture. The training aims to equip students with the necessary epistemological and methodological tools for pursuing a rigorous research project, and introduces them to a multidisciplinary and cross-jurisdictional research.

The curriculum

The curriculum consists primarily of tutored research in the field of a doctoral thesis. There are three compulsory courses on methodology (Research Methodology, Legal Research Methodology and Comparative Legal Methodology) and further optional courses aimed at fundamental topics from the discipline (such as Key Concepts of Constitutional Law, Political Philosophy Classics) or research skills (Legal Issues in Research, Academic Project Management).

Full overview of the study plan can be found on the website.

The curriculum will be organized in an interactive way in order to allow PhD students to gain feedback from their peers and other scholars. There will be regular doctoral sessions, colloquia and reading groups.

The programme could be studied as full-time (on-site) or as combined (i.e presence on site not required, however the student has to still attend the needed colloqiums/discussions/consultations/workshops in person).

Profiles of graduates

In the Czech context, the programme is a unique one, mainly because of its focus on comparative constitutional law and on the development of professional academic competences in English. Graduates of the program can work primarily as academic or scientific staff (post-docs) at universities – not only in the Czech Republic, but also in comparable positions abroad.

The program also provides its graduates with competencies usable outside the academic sphere in positions requiring insight into constitutional law issues with a comparative overlap (analytical departments of courts, governmental and other public authorities, international law offices, EU institutions and the Council of Europe).