Full Description
The concept of a European Constitutional Area has been used in legal scholarship to describe a common space of constitutionalism where national and international constitutional guarantees interact to maintain the common constitutional values of Europe. This concept has not yet been tested in a case where the constitutional order of a Member State of the European Union seems to develop systemic deficiencies. The present volume aims to assess recent constitutional developments in Hungary and Romania, as well as the interplay of national, international and European constitutionalism which react to the loopholes in national constitutions. Accordingly, a core part of the volume is an in-depth analysis of the situation in Hungary and Romania. Based on that, the volume offers an account of the different reaction mechanisms of the European Union and of the Council of Europe. Beyond a detailed stock-taking of these mechanisms, their legal and political frameworks are explored, as well as different ways to extend their reach. In this way, the volume contributes to a little-studied aspect of European constitutionalism.
Contents
I. Setting the Scene
The New Basic Law of Hungary
1. The Rise and Decline of Constitutional Culture in Hungary
László Sólyom
2. The Constitution as an Instrument of Everyday Party Politics: The Basic Law of Hungary
Pál Sonnevend, András Jakab and Lóránt Csink
3. Understanding Hungary's Constitutional Revolution
Kim Lane Scheppele
4. Context, Rules and Praxis of the New Hungarian Media Laws: How Does the Media Law Affect the Structure and Functioning of Publicity?
Gábor Polyák
Issues of Constitutionality in Romania
5. Separation of Powers and the Rule of Law in Romania: The Crisis in Concepts and Contexts
Bogdan Iancu
6. Romania in the European Union: Political Developments and the Rule of Law after Accession
Cosmina Tanasoiu
II. Instruments for Maintaining Constitutionalism in Europe
Systemic Deficiencies in the Rule of Law and the European Union
7. Enforcing the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Member States: How Far are Rome, Budapest and Bucharest from Brussels?
Frank Hoffmeister
8. A European Response to Domestic Constitutional Crisis: Advancing the Reverse-Solange Doctrine
Armin von Bogdandy, Carlino Antpöhler, Johanna Dickschen,Simon Hentrei, Matthias Kottmann and Maja Smrkolj
The Role of the European Convention on Human Rights
9. The European Convention on Human Rights: Inherent Constitutional Tendencies and the Role of the European Court of Human Rights
Christoph Grabenwarter
10. Central and Eastern European Member States of the EU and the European Convention on Human Rights
Mahulena Hofmann
11. The Role of the Venice Commission in Maintaining the Rule of Law in Hungary and in Romania
Joakim Nergelius
Theories of Limits of the Constitution-Making Power
12. What Legitimises a National Constitution? On the Importance of International Embedding
Matthias Hartwig
13. Convention Rights as Minimum Constitutional Guarantees? The Conflict between Domestic Constitutional Law and the European Convention on Human Rights
Tilmann Altwicker
14. The Unconstitutional Constitution: A Timely Concept
Catherine Dupré
