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Edinburgh Dialogue on Post-Conflict Constitution Building

Participants at the First Edinburgh Dialogue Conference on Interim Constitutions in Post-Conflict Settings, 4-5 December 2014

Partners: Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law (ECCL), PeaceRep (formerly PSRP), Global Justice Academy, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Edinburgh Dialogue on Post-Conflict Constitution Building is an annual series that brings together high-level experts and practitioners from the fields of constitution building, peacebuilding, and conflict mediation for discussions on issues relating to the role of constitution building in conflict-to-peace transitions.

The Edinburgh Dialogues are meant to assist participants and, through publications, a wider audience in:

  • Exploring the relationship between peacemakers and constitution-makers, and the processes of peace and constitution building;
  • Building an epistemic community of people engaged at the interface between peace and constitution building;
  • Addressing critical process design issues in post-conflict contexts or conflict-affected settings seeking to emerge from violent conflict, particularly where these processes involve ‘novel’ forms of constitutional law, such as interim constitutions or other interim arrangements; and
  • Addressing critical gaps in the comparative constitutional law and peace building literatures, especially as these gaps relate to the interconnection between constitution and peace building.

Each workshop produces a report based on the discussions and outcomes.

The Edinburgh Dialogues participants include regular members from the United Nations Mediation Support Unit and Standby Team on Mediation Support, the United Nations Development Programme, UN Special Representatives of the Secretary General, the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue and Conciliation Resources.

Themes:

  • 2014: Interim Constitutions in Post-Conflict Settings
  • 2015: Constitution Building in Political Settlement Processes: the Quest for Inclusion
  • 2016: Sub-state Constitution Building in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings
  • 2017: The Quest for Legitimate Stability: Understanding the Interactions between Elections and Constitutions in Fragile and Conflict-affected State Transitions
  • 2018: Moving Beyond Transitions to Transformation: Interactions between Transitional Justice and Constitution-Building
  • 2019: Interim Governance Arrangements in Post-Conflict and Fragile Settings
  • 2020: Emergency Law Responses to Covid-19 and the Impact on Peace and Transition Processes
  • 2021: The Changing International Order and its Impact on Constitution Building Support
  • 2022: Unfulfilled (Constitutional) Promises or Stalled Processes in Fragile Settings
  • 2023: The Economic Settlement in Constitutions and its Impact on the Transition