Activity
Debate, research and cooperation in constitutional law, from the Roundtable at Villa Noël to the World Congress in Bogotá.
Flagship event
Every autumn, the community of constitutionalists gathers in Bucharest around a major theme. Professors, judges, researchers, lawyers and doctoral students debate face to face, in an academic tradition now at its 27th edition. The Roundtable is organised together with the Centre for Constitutional Law and Political Institutions (CDCIP) of the University of Bucharest Faculty of Law and hosted by CEREFREA Villa Noël, and it closes with the association's General Assembly.
27th edition · upcoming
Opened by Prof. Marieta Safta, with remarks by Prof. Elena-Simina Tănăsescu, Prof. Ștefan Deaconu, Prof. Mihai Bădescu and Ionel Leon. Two panels, chaired by Prof. Ștefan Deaconu and Prof. Emilian Ciongaru, on inverse constitutionalism, the crisis of democratic legitimacy, populism and demagoguery, online disinformation and the limits of the people's power. The ARDC General Assembly closes the day.
26th edition
The address of the President of the Constitutional Court, Prof. Elena-Simina Tănăsescu, two debate sections, a talk by special guest Prof. Gonzalo Ramírez Cleves (Universidad Externado de Colombia) on the 2026 World Congress, and the association's General Assembly.
In the world
As the national association affiliated with the IACL-AIDC, the ARDC takes part both in the institutional life of the worldwide network and in its scientific programme. In July 2026 the association was represented at the 12th World Congress of Constitutional Law in Bogotá, themed "Sustainable Constitutionalism: Answers for a Changing World", which gathered over 2,500 participants from five continents. ARDC President Prof. Marieta Safta and Honorary President Prof. Elena-Simina Tănăsescu took part in the IACL Council Meeting (where the new leadership for 2026-2030, led by Prof. Selin Esen, was elected), in the workshops on judicial independence and constitutional dialogue, in the deliberative "Mini-Public on Democracy as a Human Right", in the panel of women presidents of constitutional courts and in the special session "Ius constitutionale commune in Latin America and Europe". Read the full report.
On 1 August 2026 the ARDC marked World Constitution Day in Lugano, where Prof. Marieta Safta spoke on constitutional justice in the face of artificial intelligence and global governance, in a presentation symbolically delivered by an AI-generated avatar. Details.
The association's President sits on the Expert Council of the 2025 Book of the Year prize of the International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism, and the special guest of the 2025 Roundtable was Prof. Gonzalo Ramírez Cleves, one of the architects of the Bogotá Congress. On its Facebook page the association regularly relays calls, seminars and debates from the IACL-AIDC network.
Together
We are the Romanian national association affiliated with the International Association of Constitutional Law, the worldwide forum of constitutionalists, present on every continent. We take part in its world congresses and statutory meetings.
The Annual Roundtable is organised together with the Centre for Constitutional Law and Political Institutions of the University of Bucharest Faculty of Law and hosted by the Regional Francophone Centre for Advanced Research in Social Sciences, CEREFREA Villa Noël.
A cooperation protocol signed in March 2023 and a partnership in the conference "The Survival of the Constitutional Tradition in the Patterns of European Constitutionalism" (Chișinău, 2026). Acad. Prof. Ion Guceac, an ARDC member, is one of the bridges of this cooperation.
The President of the Constitutional Court of Romania, Prof. Elena-Simina Tănăsescu, is a founding member and honorary president of the association. The ARDC relays the Court's case law and press releases and brings them into academic debate.
Research
The ARDC promotes the Revista de Drept Constituțional / Constitutional Law Review (RDC), a biannual publication that provides a scholarly forum for constitutional law issues at national, European and international level, with a focus on the dialogue between constitutional theory and case law. The Review is edited by Prof. Tudorel Toader and Prof. Marieta Safta, has an international scientific board, uses the DOI system and charges no publication fees.
Calls for papers are announced on the association's page; articles are published in English, following the authors' guide.
Papers presented at partner conferences, such as the 2026 Chișinău conference, are published in the conference volumes.
Members are invited to all ARDC events and can propose themes, panels and research projects.
