A Call for Chapters has been announced for the forthcoming Cambridge Handbook on Unwritten Constitutionalism, inviting scholars to contribute to a comparative and interdisciplinary examination of unwritten constitutionalism, its development and its relationship with different legal traditions.
The Handbook will explore the relationship between written and unwritten constitutionalism, Indigenous legal traditions and transformative constitutionalism. Contributions from scholars across jurisdictions, disciplines and academic backgrounds are encouraged.
Call for Chapters on Unwritten Constitutionalism
The forthcoming Handbook will examine unwritten constitutionalism from comparative and interdisciplinary perspectives. It will consider how constitutional traditions and principles are understood, preserved and described beyond formally written constitutional texts.
The call may be particularly relevant to researchers working in constitutional law, comparative constitutional law, jurisprudence, legal history, Indigenous legal traditions and decolonial legal studies.
Themes and Areas of Interest
The editors particularly welcome proposals addressing Indigenous constitutionalisms, written and oral legal traditions, and writing as a colonial or decolonial practice.
Proposals may also examine methodological problems in describing legal traditions as “written” or “unwritten”. The role of writing the unwritten in the preservation of language is another area specifically identified in the call.
Contributions from scholars in the Global South are particularly encouraged. Proposals focusing on jurisdictions in Central and South America are also welcomed.
Who Can Submit
The Call for Chapters welcomes contributions from scholars working on constitutionalism and related interdisciplinary areas.
Researchers examining constitutional traditions, oral legal practices, Indigenous constitutionalism, legal language and the relationship between written and unwritten law are encouraged to submit proposals.
Submission Guidelines
Interested contributors are required to submit a proposal of up to 250 words outlining their proposed chapter.
The Handbook is seeking a limited number of chapters, and proposals should clearly communicate the subject and approach of the proposed contribution.
Proposal Length: Maximum 250 words
Deadline: 30 October 2026
Submission Email: unwritten-constitutionalism.rewi@hu-berlin.de
Scholars interested in contributing to the Cambridge Handbook on Unwritten Constitutionalism should submit their proposals by the specified deadline.
