Many countries around the world face rising concerns – and often passionate disagreement – about the ability of their institutions to uphold core democratic principles, including the rule of law. How do legislative, executive and judicial institutions share this responsibility in practice? And what do courts do in the most high-profile constitutional cases, when their own role and that of the other two branches may be contested or under attack?
More about the Bingham Colloquium 2025 at LSE
Our speakers, all retired judges with long service in apex courts (some in several jurisdictions) and have also had prominent careers variously in academia, legal practice, politics, international organisations and as authors. In the context of the present event, their relevant positions include:
Lord (Jonathan) Sumption, Justice of the UK Supreme Court (2012-2018), also formerly served on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and on the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey
Justice (Ret.) Stephen Breyer, Justice of the US Supreme Court (1994-2022), previously Professor at Harvard Law School, where he is now Visiting Professor
Professor Noelle Lenoir, Member of the Constitutional Council of France (1992-2001), Minister for European Affairs (2002-2004), Professor and President of the Institut de l’Europe at HEC Paris
Professor Kate O’Regan, Justice of the South African Constitutional Court (1994-2007), also formerly judge ad hoc of the Supreme Court of Namibia, Professor of Human Rights Law and Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at Oxford University
This event is organised and sponsored by four institutions:
Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL). By addressing key challenges to the rule of law, this event continues the series of Bingham Lectures, which the Bingham Centre has organised since 2013. Both the Centre and the lecture series are named after Lord Bingham of Cornhill, the eminent judge and author of The Rule of Law (2010).
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Law School. With its unique social sciences take on law and legal institutions, LSE has a deep commitment to exploring the questions motivating this symposium, which lie at the intersection of law, politics, and democratic legitimacy.
New York University (NYU), School of Law. NYU School of Law has played a leading role in the design of this colloquium. Our moderator, Professor Samuel Issacharoff, is Reiss Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU and author of books including Fragile Democracies: Contested Power in the Era of Constitutional Courts (2015) and Democracy Unmoored: Populism and the Corruption of Popular Sovereignty (2023). His role in designing and moderating this event forms part of the work of the Democracy Project at NYU Law.
Institute d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences-Po), Ecole de Droit. The Law School of Sciences-Po has played an instrumental role in developing the colloquium and the dialogue which it seeks to promote concerning the role of apex courts and constitutional review bodies in both common-law and civil-law systems.
THIS EVENT OPERATES ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS, PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY TO SECURE YOUR SEATS. A TICKET DOES NOT GUARENTEE ENTRY. PLEASE ARRIVE 15 MINUTES BEFORE THE EVENT STARTS.