The UCNP project has held a series of workshops, works-in-progress and research meetings, including in Berlin in 2024.
The UCNP project is led by researchers at Durham, uOttawa, and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.
The UCNP project hosts a series a workshops for PhD and postdoctoral researchers.
This project examines the phenomenon of unwritten constitutionalism from a comparative and inter-disciplinary perspective, focussing on three jurisdictions: Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
By comparing each country’s approach to unwritten constitutional norms and principles, the project's researchers will explore common issues faced by all constitutional orders, identify the factors that influence the recognition, definition and enforcement of unwritten constitutional rules, and investigate the role of judicial enforcement of a constitution’s unwritten rules in an era of democratic backsliding.
Recent outreach and media.
Our team members @vanessamacdonnell.bsky.social and @plagasse.bsky.social have been cited in Saskatchewan (Minister of Education) v UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity 2025 SKCA 74 on the evolution of the Canadian constitution ⬇️[image or embed]— Unwritten Constitutional Norms and Principles Project (@ucnpproject.bsky.social) 12 August 2025 at 00:05
Our team members @vanessamacdonnell.bsky.social and @plagasse.bsky.social have been cited in Saskatchewan (Minister of Education) v UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity 2025 SKCA 74 on the evolution of the Canadian constitution ⬇️[image or embed]
Take a look at some of the UCNP project's previous research workshops.
On September 19, 2025, the University of Alberta hosted the Unwritten Constitutionalism Symposium, a one-day event that placed Canada’s unwritten Constitution at the centre of discussion. The symposium was co-presented by the University of Ottawa Public Law Centre, the Centre for Constitutional Studies at the University of Alberta, the Barton Chair at Carleton University and the Unwritten Constitutional Norms and Principles Project.
Click below to find out more about the project and its research teams
Durham Law School
Durham University
Palatine Centre
Stockton Road
Durham
DH1 3LE, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)191 334 2800
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