New research develops the idea of ‘queer constitutionalism’

Arifur Rahman, DPhil candidate (Dean’s Scholar) in the Faculty of Law and Graduate Resident at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, has published a new article in Transnational Legal Theory exploring how constitutions that guarantee equal rights can nevertheless exclude people with diverse sexual and gender identities.

The article examines how such exclusions, and the broader phenomenon of ‘constitutional heteronormativity’, can be addressed through constitutional interpretation without the need for formal constitutional change.

Rahman argues that existing constitutional norms can be reinterpreted through a queer lens, offering a more flexible and inclusive approach to constitutional interpretation. The article develops the idea of ‘queer constitutionalism’ as a way of challenging heteronormative assumptions within existing constitutional frameworks.

Read the full article, ‘Queer Constitutionalism’, in Transnational Legal Theory.