Conference Portuguese Constitutionalism:200 Years of the Charter and 50 of the Constitution
Experts gather in to discuss two major milestones in Portugal’s constitutional development
CEAD - Centre for Advanced Studies in Law is organising the first of three conferences dedicated to Portuguese constitutionalism in Lisbon on 20 October 2026. The session, entitled “The 1976 Constitution: Democracy, the Rule of Law and Social Transformation”, will take place in the Auditório José Araújo.
The Lisbon conference will focus on the 1976 constituent process, constitutional developments over the past half-century, the impact of the fundamental text on the consolidation of democracy and the Portuguese economic system, as well as future prospects for national constitutionalism.
The session inaugurates a Series of 3 Commemorative Conferences, organised nationwide by CEAD through its Research Area “State, International Society, Human Action”. The initiative commemorates two key milestones in Portuguese constitutional history: the 200th anniversary of the Constitutional Charter of 1826 and the 50th anniversary of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic of 1976.
With a decentralised format, the series will also visit Porto and Portimão, offering an opportunity to reflect on the evolution of constitutionalism in Portugal, from the moderate liberalism of the 1826 Charter to the democracy consolidated by the 1976 Constitution, while also addressing the constitutional challenges of the present and the future.
Programme
20 October 2026 | 2:00 pm
Lusófona University - Lisbon University Centre, Auditório José Araújo
Speakers:
- José de Faria Costa
- José João Abrantes
- Jorge Bacelar Gouveia
- Luís Cabral de Moncada
- José Lamego
- Teresa Moraes Sarmento
- José Carlos Buzanello
- Carlos Abreu Amorim
