Congratulations to Professor Vicki Jackson on winning the inaugural Louise Weinberg Prize in the Administration of Justice. Professor Jackson visited the University of Texas at Austin recently with her spouse, Bob Taylor, to receive this special award and to deliver a captivating lecture titled “The Eleventh Amendment: A Lens of Judging, a Challenge for Scholars.” Congratulations--and so richly deserved!

Chileans will vote in December on whether to approve a new constitution. This will be the country's second constitutional referendum in as many years. The first failed by a margin of 62% to 38%. The second may well suffer the same fate, as recent polls suggest low support for the new draft. If the December referendum fails, there is unlikely to be third effort at making a new constitution in the near term, according the current president.

Referendums as Representative Democracy will invite us change how we understand referendums--not only their theoretical foundations but also their current applications and their practical design. This book is at the top of my list of the most anticipated books of 2024.

In their new book on EU Fiscal Federalism, Alicia Hinarejos and Robert Schütze bring together an international group of great scholars to take a deep dive into the EU's fiscal constitution. 

Bruce Ackerman's pathbreaking book on Revolutionary Constitutions has inspired scholars to publish books--not just reviews--in response. The first was Revolutionary Constitutionalism: Law, Legitimacy, Power, a collection of essays from scholars around the world. The second--just published--is The Legitimacy of European Constitutional Orders, a book of essays by European scholars on Ackerman's account of constitutionalism in Europe. It is worth reading, and also freely available in Open Access. 

Last week, I traveled to Vilnius to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Constitutional Court of Lithuania at a marvelous conference. I was a guest of Toma Birmontienė, former Judge of the Constitutional Court, and Jolita Miliuvienė, advisor to the President of the Constitutional Court. During my stay, I gave a lecture at Mykolas Romeris University, where Judge Birmontienė and Dr. Miliuvienė hold faculty positions. I also met with doctoral students at the Institute of Public Law, directed by Juozas Valčiukas. This was my first time in Lithuania, but hopefully not my last. If you have not yet been, I recommend it--and be sure to try the delicious cepelinai!