Final Report Summary - CONSTEURGLOBGOV (The Role and Future of National Constitutions in European and Global Governance)
The research project ‘The Role and Future of National Constitutions in European and Global Governance’ (ConstEurGlobGov) was conducted by Prof. Anneli Albi at the University of Kent (UK) during 2012-2018. The aim of the project was to revisit the role of national constitutions at a time when decision-making has increasingly shifted to the European and global level, and to explore how constitutional rights and substantive constitutional values could be better upheld in the context of transnational governance. The research team was composed of Dr. Samo Bardutzky (Research Associate) and a Network of Constitutional Law Experts in twenty-nine countries (28 EU Member States and Switzerland).
The publications of the project amount to over 2,300 printed pages of completely new, original analysis of the effects – both progressive and adverse – of EU and global governance on comparative European constitutional law. The key publications include in-depth national reports, written by the constitutional law experts and their research collaborators. These have been published in the two-volume book 'National Constitutions in European and Global Governance: Democracy, Rights, the Rule of Law – National Reports' (T.M.C. Asser Press & Springer, 2019; edited by Anneli Albi and Samo Bardutzky); the book is freely available at https://www.springer.com/us/book/9789462652729. On the basis of the national reports, Prof. Albi has written a comparative monograph 'National Constitutions in European and Global Governance: Democracy, Rights, the Rule of Law – A Comparative Study' (T.M.C. Asser Press & Springer; forthcoming at the end of 2019). A summary of the research has been published in the two-part article ‘Erosion of Constitutional Rights in EU Law: A Call for “Substantive Co-operative Constitutionalism”’ in the Vienna Journal of International Constitutional Law (open access at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2746522).
This project represents the first ever systematic study of substantive comparative constitutional law in Europe. It covers fundamental rights, the rule of law, separation of powers, democratic participation and constitutional review, with analysis of the panoramic effects of EU and global governance. The project led to numerous pioneering findings, including the following. First, Prof. Albi identified three broader constitutional cultures in Europe: (a) political or historical constitutional cultures (UK, Malta, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Nordic countries); (b) post-totalitarian and post-authoritarian constitutional cultures (Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Central-Eastern Europe, including Hungary before 2010 and Poland before 2016); and (c) traditional legal constitutions (France, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Cyprus). Secondly, the project brought to light that Europe’s post-totalitarian and post-authoritarian constitutions – modelled on the German Basic Law and representing the ‘Never again’ ethos – embody some of the most extensive, detailed, constitutionally codified and judicially protected fundamental rights, social rights and rule of law safeguards in the world. The project documented the numerous ways in which these have come under strain in the context of EU law, in different areas such as the Data Retention Directive, European Arrest Warrant and EU criminal law, the ESM Treaty, EU and IMF austerity programmes and the euro crisis adjudication, the publication of laws, the principles of legal certainty and legitimate expectations, and the balancing of single market freedoms with classic fundamental rights. The third and most profound research finding was that the tensions in these areas are part of the gradual, ongoing process of transition from the classic constitutional or public law paradigm to an autonomous EU and global governance paradigm. This autonomous governance paradigm is, surprisingly, not based on comparative European constitutional law, but has a different intrinsic logic and priorities (including the quest towards uniformisation of law).
Having documented these and further profound changes and developments, the project provides a solid basis and groundwork for a more broad-based scholarly and public discussion about the future direction of travel for national, comparative European, EU and global constitutionalism. Prof. Albi propounds a vision of ‘substantive co-operative constitutionalism’, where the achieved standard of protection of fundamental rights and rule of law safeguards would be retained, along with the diversity of the constitutional cultures in Europe. A wealth of practical suggestions for addressing issues at the interface of EU and constitutional law have also been put forward by the constitutional law experts in the national reports.
The project results have sparked considerable interest, including invitations to give presentations at an expert hearing at the European Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee meeting on the Future of Europe and at a seminar organised by the Association of Europe’s Supreme Administrative Courts. Further information about the project, including a sign-up form for a newsletter on updates and follow-up developments, is available at the project website at https://research.kent.ac.uk/roc/.
The publications of the project amount to over 2,300 printed pages of completely new, original analysis of the effects – both progressive and adverse – of EU and global governance on comparative European constitutional law. The key publications include in-depth national reports, written by the constitutional law experts and their research collaborators. These have been published in the two-volume book 'National Constitutions in European and Global Governance: Democracy, Rights, the Rule of Law – National Reports' (T.M.C. Asser Press & Springer, 2019; edited by Anneli Albi and Samo Bardutzky); the book is freely available at https://www.springer.com/us/book/9789462652729. On the basis of the national reports, Prof. Albi has written a comparative monograph 'National Constitutions in European and Global Governance: Democracy, Rights, the Rule of Law – A Comparative Study' (T.M.C. Asser Press & Springer; forthcoming at the end of 2019). A summary of the research has been published in the two-part article ‘Erosion of Constitutional Rights in EU Law: A Call for “Substantive Co-operative Constitutionalism”’ in the Vienna Journal of International Constitutional Law (open access at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2746522).
This project represents the first ever systematic study of substantive comparative constitutional law in Europe. It covers fundamental rights, the rule of law, separation of powers, democratic participation and constitutional review, with analysis of the panoramic effects of EU and global governance. The project led to numerous pioneering findings, including the following. First, Prof. Albi identified three broader constitutional cultures in Europe: (a) political or historical constitutional cultures (UK, Malta, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Nordic countries); (b) post-totalitarian and post-authoritarian constitutional cultures (Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Central-Eastern Europe, including Hungary before 2010 and Poland before 2016); and (c) traditional legal constitutions (France, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Cyprus). Secondly, the project brought to light that Europe’s post-totalitarian and post-authoritarian constitutions – modelled on the German Basic Law and representing the ‘Never again’ ethos – embody some of the most extensive, detailed, constitutionally codified and judicially protected fundamental rights, social rights and rule of law safeguards in the world. The project documented the numerous ways in which these have come under strain in the context of EU law, in different areas such as the Data Retention Directive, European Arrest Warrant and EU criminal law, the ESM Treaty, EU and IMF austerity programmes and the euro crisis adjudication, the publication of laws, the principles of legal certainty and legitimate expectations, and the balancing of single market freedoms with classic fundamental rights. The third and most profound research finding was that the tensions in these areas are part of the gradual, ongoing process of transition from the classic constitutional or public law paradigm to an autonomous EU and global governance paradigm. This autonomous governance paradigm is, surprisingly, not based on comparative European constitutional law, but has a different intrinsic logic and priorities (including the quest towards uniformisation of law).
Having documented these and further profound changes and developments, the project provides a solid basis and groundwork for a more broad-based scholarly and public discussion about the future direction of travel for national, comparative European, EU and global constitutionalism. Prof. Albi propounds a vision of ‘substantive co-operative constitutionalism’, where the achieved standard of protection of fundamental rights and rule of law safeguards would be retained, along with the diversity of the constitutional cultures in Europe. A wealth of practical suggestions for addressing issues at the interface of EU and constitutional law have also been put forward by the constitutional law experts in the national reports.
The project results have sparked considerable interest, including invitations to give presentations at an expert hearing at the European Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee meeting on the Future of Europe and at a seminar organised by the Association of Europe’s Supreme Administrative Courts. Further information about the project, including a sign-up form for a newsletter on updates and follow-up developments, is available at the project website at https://research.kent.ac.uk/roc/.