Full Description
This book provides unique insights into the practice of democratic constitutionalism in one of the world's most legally and politically significant regions. It combines contributions from leading Latin American and global scholars to provide 'bottom up' and 'top down' insights about the lessons to be drawn from the distinctive constitutional experiences of countries in Latin America. In doing so, it also draws on a rich array of legal and interdisciplinary perspectives. Ultimately, it shows both the promise of democratic constitutions as a vehicle for social, economic and political change, and the variation in the actual constitutional experiences of different countries on the ground - or the limits to constitutions as a locus for broader social change.
This book presents new perspectives on recurrent topics and debates that enrich comparative constitutional law in other regions of the world, both in the Global South and the Global North. The fine-tuned, in-depth approach of the contributors brings rigorous scholarship to this institutionally diverse and significant region, illuminating the under-explored relationship between constitutionalism, politics, ideology and leadership.
This unique and challenging study will prove to be an indispensable tool, not only for academics interested in Latin America but for comparative constitutional law scholars across the globe.
Contributors include: C. Bernal, J.l. Colón-Ríos, J. Couso, R. Dixon, Z. Elkins, H.A. Garcia, R. Gargarella, T. Ginsburg, A. Huneeus, D. Landau, J. Lemaitre, L. Lixinski, G.L. Negretto, R.A. Sanchez-Urribarri, M. Tushnet, O. Vilhena Vieira
Contents
Contents:
1. Comparative Constitutional Law in Latin America - an Introduction
Rosalind Dixon and Tom Ginsburg
2. Constitution-Making and Constitutionalism in Latin America: The Role of Procedural Rules
Gabriel L. Negretto
3. Constitution-Making and Constituent Power
Joel Colón-Ríos
4. A Critical Mapping of Transitional Justice in Latin America
Lucas Lixinski
5. Constitutional revolution in the Andes?
Zachary Elkins
6. The New "Bolivarian" Constitutions: A Textual Analysis
Mark Tushnet
7. Looking beyond the Constitution: The Social and Ecological Function of Property
Helena Alviar Garcia
8. Equality
Roberto Gargarella
9. Modes of Disestablishment in Latin America
Julieta Lemaitre
10. Judicial Role and the Limits of Constitutional Convergence in Latin America
David Landau
11. Ambitious Constitutions: Prominent Courts
Oscar Vilhena Vieira
12. Between Power and Submissiveness - Constitutional Adjudication in Latin America
Raul A. Sanchez-Urribarri
13. The Institutional Limits of Inter-American Constitutionalism
Alexandra Huneeus
14. The Constitutional Protection of Economic and Social Rights in Latin America
Carlos Bernal
15. The "Economic Constitutions" of Latin America: Between Free Markets and Socioeconomic Rights
Javier Couso
Index
