The Constitutionalization of International Law
Jan Klabbers, Anne Peters, and Geir Ulfstein
Abstract
Constitutional issues have century-long traditions at the national level. The relevance of constitutional questions at the international level has, however, been the subject of much debate in recent years. This book investigates what should be characterized as constitutional features of the current international order, in what way the challenges differ from those at the national level, what could be a proper interaction between different international arrangements as well as between the international and national constitutional level. Finally, it sketches the outlines of what a constitutionali ... More
Constitutional issues have century-long traditions at the national level. The relevance of constitutional questions at the international level has, however, been the subject of much debate in recent years. This book investigates what should be characterized as constitutional features of the current international order, in what way the challenges differ from those at the national level, what could be a proper interaction between different international arrangements as well as between the international and national constitutional level. Finally, it sketches the outlines of what a constitutionalized world order could and should imply. The book provides a critical appraisal of constitutionalist ideas and of their critique. It postulates that the reconstruction of the current evolution of international law as a process of constitutionalization (against a background of, and partly in competition with, the verticalization of substantive law and the deformalization and fragmentation of international law) has some explanatory power, permits new insights and allows for new arguments. The book does not undertake extensive empirical studies of the degree of constitutionalization in international cooperation. It rather identifies constitutional trends and challenges in establishing international organizational structures, and designs procedures for standard-setting, implementation and judicial functions.
Keywords:
constitutionalization,
democracy,
rule of law,
constitutional review,
constitutional law,
international law,
international organizations,
human rights,
fragmentation of international law
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2009 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199543427 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: February 2010 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199543427.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Jan Klabbers, author
Professor of International Organizations Law, University of Helsinki
Anne Peters, author
Professor of Public International Law and Swiss Constitutional Law, University of Basel
Geir Ulfstein, author
Professor of International Law, University of Oslo
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