Varieties of Constitutionalism: Susanne Baer and Larry Kramer in Conversation

A former constitutional court justice and an eminent scholar of constitutional theory discuss challenges facing constitutional courts in particular, and judges in general, in today’s economic and political environment. These include the need to establish the knowledge base for decisions, and to strike a balance between independence from, and accountability to, the larger society.

Professor Susanne Baer is Centennial Professor at LSE,  Professor of Public Law and Gender Studies at Humboldt University Berlin, and a Lea Bates Global Law Professor at the University of Michigan Law School. From 2011 until 2023, she served as Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court in Germany. She has received honorary doctorates from the University of Michigan (2014), the University of Hasselt (2017) and the University of Lucerne (2018). In the UK, she is a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, where she gave the Maccabean Lecture in 2019. She has taught at CEU Budapest, in Austria, Switzerland and, most recently, at University of Toronto, with former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella. Her interests include constitutional law, comparative law and feminist and socio-legal theory.  Susanne’s many publications include ‘The Rule of – and not by any – Law: On Constitutionalism’ (2018).

Professor Larry Kramer is President and Vice Chancellor of LSE. He served as President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation from 2012 to 2024. Previously, Larry spent his career in the academy, as Dean of Stanford Law School from 2004 – 2012, and before this at the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, and New York University, where he served as Associate Dean for Research and Academics and Russell D. Niles Professor of Law. He clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Henry J. Friendly of the Second Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr., following his education. Larry’s interests include American legal history, constitutional law, federalism, conflict of laws; he is the author of numerous articles and books, including The People Themselves: Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial Review (2004). Larry is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Philosophical Society.

Speakers: Larry Kramer and Susanne Baer

Chair: Niki Lacey

This event is open to the public and operates on a first-come, first-served basis. To secure your seat, we kindly recommend arriving early. Thank you for your understanding.

This event will be followed by a drinks reception.