The statute of the University of Tartu Institute of Constitutional and International Law was adopted on 21 December 2009 by the Council of the Faculty of Law. In January 2010, Professor Lauri Mälksoo was appointed Director of the Institute. The Institute covers two integrated areas of research – Constitutional Law (sub-field led by Professor Ülle Madise) and International Law (sub-field led by Professor Lauri Mälksoo).
The goals of the Institute of Constitutional and International Law are written down in the statute of the Institute. The Institute was created in order to achieve new scholarly synergy in the Faculty of Law of the University of Tartu. Both the fields of Constitutional and International Law are strategically important for Estonia. Moreover, they are inter-related and so should be the research efforts in these fields. A significant keyword for the Institute is the internationalization of legal scholarship. While it is clear that the scholarship of Public International Law has always been global, internationalization has increasingly reached the study of Constitutional Law as well.
Institute’s projects are carried out both in Estonia’s main university town Tartu and in the capital city, Tallinn. Being represented and active in Tallinn is one of the strategic goals of the Institute. A number of conferences and other activities of the Institute are taking place in Tallinn.
The projects that have been completed so far include:
1) In 2010, the Institute purchased a solid library on Constitutional Law and Theory, with the financial support of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Estonia. The library is available for researchers, students and public alike.
2) On 26-28 May 2011, the Institute organized in Tallinn the Research Forum of the European Society of International Law (www.esil2011.ut.ee). All panels and plenaries of this conference can be viewed at www.uttv.ee (keyword ’ESIL’). Approximately 180 participants attended the Research Forum.
3) Since 2009, the Institute collaborates with Konrad Adenauer Foundation with yearly Estonian-German Constitutional Law Symposia. The 2010 and 2011 symposia can also be viewed at www.uttv.ee - http://uttv.ee/naita?id=6172 .
The currently ongoing projects of the Institute include the following:
1) With the support of a grant (2009-2014) awarded by the European Research Council, we study how the Russian Federation understands international law and human rights. This is the first grant awarded by the ERC to an Estonian scholar. Professor Mälksoo, doctoral students Erki Kodar and Irina Nossova participate in this project.
2) Starting in 2011, Professor Madise organizes a series of public lectures on Constitutional Law at the Faculty’s Tallinn premises.
3) The Institute represents the University of Tartu in the European master program in human rights and democratization (www.emahumanrights.org ). From 2008-2010, Professor Mälksoo has taught in Venice during the Social, Cultural and Economic rights week. During the spring semester, we offer courses in English – inter alia on Russia’s understanding of international law and human rights, transitional justice in Eastern Europe, etc. Since 2008, e.ma students have every year chosen Tartu University as a destination for their Master studies. Professor Mälksoo, Lecturer René Värk, Assistant Katre Luhamaa and Assistant Varro Vooglaid participate in the teaching of courses in the e.ma program.
The personnel of the Institute and their contact data are the following:
Prof Lauri Mälksoo, 
, tel. 7376066 (Secretary Aive Suik)
Prof Ülle Madise,
Visiting Professor Rait Maruste,
Lecturer René Värk,
Lecturer Varro Vooglaid,
Assistant Katre Luhamaa,
Assistant Priit Vinkel,
Assistant Berit Aaviksoo,
Doctoral student Hent Kalmo
26.09.2011